EU okays plan for mobiles in the sky

Airbus and SITA, an in-flight communications specialist, won permission from the European Commission on Thursday for a joint venture that will enable travellers to make calls, send text messages, email and use the Internet during flights. The venture, OnAir, will be jointly controlled by Dutch-registered SITA and Airbus, the European Union executive said in a statement.
The creation of OnAir was announced in July, 2004, and the aim was to allow passengers to use their own mobile phones, laptops and personal digital assistants in flight and to be billed through their normal operator.