by Koh Hui Theng

MOBILE-TELEPHONY service provider OnAir has targeted the budget- conscious traveller by promising them savings on their next inflight call.

Making calls and sending text and e-mail messages from their mobile phones will be up to 75 per cent cheaper than the rates they are paying now.

At present, such calls from a phone on an aircraft cost up to US$11 (S$16.70) per minute.

OnAir, which has inked agreements to provide the services on almost 100 planes, including those from British Airways by the year-end, promises its rates will be "significantly less expensive". Royal Jordanian is one of five airlines that already offer the service.

In a recent interview with my paper, OnAir chief commercial officer Stephan Egli, 50, said it will offer rates which are "a quarter the cost of (the rates for) traditional in-seat phones".

He did not give specifics, but said that the rates would not include the extra charges that are levied by phone users' local service providers.

Based on his estimates, On- Air can offer talk time to aircraft passengers at rates between US$1.25 and US$2.75 a minute.

Singaporean travellers who use their mobile phones while overseas said they pay anything from $0.50 to $8 per minute to make and receive international calls.

With OnAir, they can also send and receive text messages through its GSM and GPRS-supported network, which they cannot do presently on a plane.

Mr Egli said: "It's about taking the communication we have on the ground into the air."

The technology allows 24 passengers to make a voice call at the same time, and text messaging for an unlimited number of passengers.

Cabin crew can block voice calls at certain times, such as at night.

The first authorised mobile- phone call from a commercial flight occurred last March.

A Microsoft-sponsored survey last month showed that almost 60 per cent of the 2,500 Asia-Pacific respondents polled think they should be allowed to use mobile phones on board flights.

Budget carriers like Ryanair and AirAsia are offering the service as it lets them earn more by taking a cut from charges that telcos impose.

Some carriers like Singapore Airlines have not come onboard because of differing passenger feedback. Others like Qantas allow limited mobile-phone usage - but only if passengers are travelling on domestic routes.

Food-and-beverage company Apex-Pal International chief executive Douglas Foo, 39, said: "Being able to call or text in mid-air lets me keep in touch with staff, so it's good to have this option."

However, Mr Foo, who flies twice a week, sees a downside: "I'll be disturbed if I'm next to someone yakking away on a 10-hour flight."

Mr Egli said travellers tend to text more than they call, with call time averaging two minutes.

While he welcomed greater connectivity, Mr Foo felt "other considerations such as flight timing would ultimately determine my choice of airline".

kohht@sph.com.sg

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