There are a number of "catches," but Virgin Atlantic passengers will soon be able to make cell phone calls on the airline's flights from London to New York, the airline announced this week. No passengers will be allowed to have their phones powered up for takeoff or landing, and only six people will be allowed to talk at once. Each one will pay international roaming rates for the call and must have access to either Europe's Vodafone or O2 carriers, or the U.S.'s T-Mobile. By year-end, the service should be available on as many as 20 of the carrier's aircraft flying 10 routes. Virgin Atlantic isn't the first to offer the service, but there may be reason not to expect U.S. carriers to follow suit soon.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/cell-phone-calls-okd-by-airline