So
here I was writing about cell phones and all the questions about whether it’s safe to make calls from the air (and
whether being able to hear marketing guy Bob blab during the whole flight is a good thing), a lo! I’m sent a great article
from a buddy of mine Farhad Heydari about how you can make Skype calls from
the sky (really adds punch to the Skype name, don’t you think?) where internet access is available on planes. A fine
idea, I think.
I was on a Lufthansa flight to Armenia awhile back and loved having Net access from up
there. And now. thanks to the recent boom in onboard broadband wireless Internet access, you can use Skype or Gizmo or
which ever VOIP service you have, to make calls. Internet service in the air is currently offered by 10 carriers
including SAS, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa. And while it’s not exactly free (Lufthansa, for example, charges $9.95
per hour or $26.95 per flight), it’s still not a bad deal, especially since you can read Gadling while you’re up there
as well. ;-)