You know that guy that sits next to you on the airplane that still makes cell phone calls even though all the flight attendants told him to stow his belongings?  Yeah, that guy.  Well, if you’re flying on Air France, you can’t be mad at that guy anymore.  Bummer.

That’s right, Air France is going through a trial phase of allowing in-flight cell phone use for sending and receiving short messages or checking their email…in 3 months time, voice calls are going to be lumped into the experiment, assuming of course it doesn’t interfere with the comfort or well-being of other passengers.  Newsflash, it already is.

Actually, I shouldn’t be so harsh, as a member of the mobile generation I can fully appreciate the need to speak to someone when you want, where you want, and no mobile warrior is complete without that capability.  This will help in that regard but the true question remains…at what cost?  According to the article, to avoid navigation/plane operation issues here’s how it goes down:

“A small cellular base station inside the plane routs onboard calls and messages. Messages are sent to a satellite and then to the ground and the phone’s network. The service is supplied by OnAir, a company partially owned by airplane maker Airbus.” 

Groovy, but does that mean I want to hear about your meatloaf, your business deal, your schmoopy woopy or your love bug?  No.  It doesn’t, and No, it won’t.

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