British Airways passengers can now make voice and video calls onboard certain flights with new Starlink WiFi.
British Airways now allows voice and video calls on certain flights. Company aircraft equipped with Starlink WiFi, which debuted on March 19 will enable passengers on BA to make voice and video calls while aloft.
British Airways will be rolling out Starlink WiFi across the fleet over the next two years, free to all passengers, without limits on how many devices they can log on with. With the rollout, the airline let passengers know they could make voice or video calls using the WiFi, with a couple of restrictions. The airline requests that passengers availing themselves of that functionality keep their voices low and use headphones instead of allowing the audio to be heard by others in the cabin.
BA also requests that passengers use headphones whenever they’re watching video or audio content on their devices, noting that the Starlink speeds will be fast enough to allow passengers to stream content. They also request that passengers refrain from accessing “anything offensive” and to refrain from watching or downloading “inappropriate content”, noting that some sites and content will be blocked.
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Starlink will eventually be available on every BA flight, but they’re focusing the first stages of the rollout on long-haul aircraft. The airline expects the service to be available across much of the globe, but says Starlink is not currently available in Russia, China, Belarus, North Korea, Northern Cyprus, and India.
Many U.S. carriers are also introducing Starlink WiFi, including United, Alaska, and Hawaiian, but those carriers do not yet allow passengers to make voice or video calls while using the service. The Federal Communications Commission prohibits the use of cellular networks onboard airliners while in US airspace (some European airlines allow passengers to make cellular calls in-flight), but it’s largely been left to airlines to decide whether they want to allow passengers to make calls over WiFi.
At one point, Congress attempted to ban calls over WiFi, but a final rule was never adopted, so the calls remain subject to individual airline policies.
Airline policies aside, the ability to make voice and video calls from the aircraft could easily strip away some of the last moments of peace from the business traveler’s world. Many business travelers have expectations to be reachable via e-mail while traveling, but imagine a world where being on a flight is no longer a good excuse for skipping a virtual meeting via video call, seeping virtually every portion of a normal workday into the travel experience for many travelers flying on business.
Airlines could also be put in an awkward position by asking flight attendants to police how passengers are using their devices in-flight. Some airlines currently publish and have their crews enforce quite cabin policies, requiring the use of headphones for content downloaded or streaming on a device, but it puts flight attendants into the role of enforcers onboard. This not only adds complexity to their jobs, but could also increase the possibility of in-flight conflict that crews might be expected to help defuse.
Many U.S. airlines—whether they’ve installed Starlink on their aircraft or not—already allow free messaging while in-flight. Carriers with other internet providers also offer WiFi available for purchase, but speeds generally don’t support streaming, video, or voice calls while in-flight. Starlink offers a significant improvement in data speeds, which allow streaming and other higher data use activities for the first time.
Cellular networks have been banned from use onboard U.S. flights since 1991. The FCC implemented the ban based on fears that the use of cell phones in-flight would adversely impact the operation of ground-based cellular systems. The FCC has banned the use of radio signals on commercial flights since the 1960s.