Airlines managing in-flight mobile phone usage with their Project Stakeholders
Yes, it’s coming soon to an airline near you. The technology now exists to allow mobile phone calls to be made from aircraft during flight.
The extension of mobile phone coverage to aircraft is a radical and welcome change. Planes are one of the few remaining places where where mobile phones don’t work, or where there use is prohibited. Allowing their use will undoubtedly delight many people, and upset others.
The telecoms industry has a long history of introducing new equipment and services without much thought for their social impact. In a rare example of companies seeking to manage the expectations of their stakeholders, some airlines are now starting to experiment with this new service, and are seeking the feedback of customers by survey. Only a few aircraft will be fitted at first, and phone-usage will initially be limited to text and email with stakeholder feedback on the appropriate etiquette.
Some railway operators have already experimented with mobile phone usage. When they later discovered that some passengers were vehemently against it, they responded by designating certain carriages as “quiet zones”. This will not be so easy in aircraft, with a single cabin and a few curtains.
The airlines should be congratulated on their use of stakeholder management when attempting to introduce such a radical new service. We will be watching to see how this new service is managed.