British Airways has reportedly become one of only a few airlines to allow passengers to make in-flight phone and video calls.
It follows the introduction of Starlink wifi, which is being rolled out across its entire fleet of more than 300 planes.
Starlink is already available on at least one of BA’s Boeing 787 aircraft, and it is due to be on all of its planes within the next two years.
When the roll-out is complete, all passengers in all cabins will have free access to fast wifi for almost the entire flight.
While most other airlines ban voice and video calls in the air, BA is only requesting passengers practice good etiquette.
According to travel journalist Simon Calder, the airline is telling passengers: “If you need to take a call during the flight, we’d appreciate it if you could keep your voice low and use headphones.”
It means passengers will be able to livestream video content as well as make phone calls.
Travel Gossip has approached BA for confirmation.
Virgin Atlantic, which will start introducing Starlink to its fleet in the third quarter of this year, said it hasn’t decided if passengers will be allowed to make calls. A spokesperson said: “We’re still working through the customer guidance for Starlink at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Ryanair flights look set to remain a call-free zone after boss Michael O’Leary publicly baulked at the idea of paying an estimated €250 million to install Starlink across its fleet.
