Hello? I'm on the plane... Mobile phones cleared for take-off on Virgin Atlantic jets

Noise is a trigger for stress says anti-noise campaigner

Facility to be offered throughout cabin at 35,000ft

Plan to have 20 aircraft for mobile phones by end of year

Calls to cost £1 a minute and text messages 20p a text

Also to feature on Boeing 747s

System offers the equivalent of having a telecomms base station on aircraft

Dozing air passengers face the prospect of being rudely awakened by someone talking loudly on their mobile phone after Virgin Atlantic became the first British airline to permit calls on board flights.

While the news may be warmly welcomed by businessmen and others for whom it is important to keep connected at all times, anti-noise campaigners claim the decision is 'crazy'.

Passengers flying between London and New York on Virgin's new A330 Airbus will be able to not only make calls, but also to send and receive text messages, emails and have web access via GPRS.

Taking off? Passengers flying between London and New York on Virgin's new A330 airbus will be able to not only make calls, but also to send and receive text messages, emails and have web access via GPRS

Business class passengers will be able to enjoy the longest beds in the modern cabins

The facility will be offered throughout the cabin and there will be no restrictions on when the facility can be used - although Virgin say that at the moment limited bandwidth means only ten people can make calls simultaneously.

The service is not permitted during take-off or landing, and American laws mean that it has to be turned off around 250 miles from US airspace.

Val Weedon of the anti-noise action group Noisedirect said the organisation receives a steady stream of complaints from people annoyed by mobile phone users on trains and coaches and was against the decision to expand permitted usage to aeroplane flights.

She said: 'Noise is noise and the impact is no different in any situation. Noise is a trigger for stress. The heart rate increases and it can cause to all sorts of health problems. There have been lots of studies finding links between noise and stress.

'In such a confined space as an aircraft it could be very annoying. While we are not totally against it in principle, during certain parts of the trip, such as overnight when people want to rest, it should definitely not be allowed. '

The executive bar where passengers will be able to joy a glass of champagne

It will cost £1 per minute to call aboard the flight and 20p to send a text. Virgin Atlantic said the system was aimed at business travelers needing to make an urgent call to the office or for people wanting to get a message home.



Steve Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Atlantic said: 'Many people will have experienced that moment when you’re about to take off on a 10-hour flight and you need to send an important message to the office, or even reminding a family member to feed the cat!

'It’s also quite fun to call home and say 'Guess where I am' – not many people would think you’re travelling at 35,000ft above the Atlantic Ocean.'

HOW DOES IT WORK

The system works using a small telecommunications base station called a piccell.

A picocell is low cost and typically the size of a ream of A4 paper.

It acts as a miniature mobile telephone tower communicating with mobile phones within the aircraft and relaying the signals to either satellites or a land-based system.

Communication between the picocell and the rest of the telephone network is on separate frequencies.

There is no interference with the aircraft's equipment as is the case with on–board phone systems already on many commercial aircraft.

Interference is reduced because both the picocell's and the phones' output power can be reduced to very low levels.

It will also feature on the airline’s Boeing 747 planes, which are currently going through a £50 million refurbishment. By the end of 2012, nearly 20 aircraft will provide the service.

The announcement comes as Virgin Atlantic officially unveils its new aircraft – the Airbus A330-300, which is part of a £100m investment and features a redesigned First Class cabin with a ‘technology hub’ to connect a smart phone, USB or tablet device.

AeroMobile, which is part-owned by Panasonic are partners with Virgin Atlantic on the project. Passengers will be billed for the international roaming charges and the service is currently offered to customers with 02 or Vodafone networks.

The system offers the equivalent of having a telecomms base station on the aircraft - called picocell. It's new British designed technology that doesn't interfere with the avionics

A spokesperson for AeroMobile said: 'Increasingly people want to stay in touch wherever they are - on land, sea or air.