BA To Allow Flight Texting

British Airways has said it will allow mobile phone texting, e-mailing and web surfing on some of its flights later this year...but there's a catch.

British Airways is going to allow passengers to use mobile phones to text, e-mail and surf from later this year. But that usage is going to be very limited.

You’ll need to be flying between London and New York on one of the company’s all-new 32-seater, all-business-class flights, the Daily Telegraph reports, and those flights won’t be cheap.

“The service is aimed at people in the Square Mile,” said a spokesman for BA. “We believe the route and the new technology will offer an appealing package to business travelers.”

The service, which will be provided by OnAir, won’t allow voice at first, but that will be tested later, after which the airline will evaluate customer feedback as to whether to allow it.

Emirates already allows in-flight cell service at $3 a minute for voice calls, and both Ryanair and Qantas plan to introduce it. BMI already has texting service on its Heathrow-Moscow route.