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Passengers travelling on Bmi can now use their mobile phones to send text messages, but not make calls, on aircraft travelling between Heathrow and Moscow.

The carrier is one of a number of airlines trialling the service, but has resisted enabling voice calls owing to resistance from consumers. In a recent poll, Times Online readers voted 87 per cent against the introduction of mobile phone calls on planes.

The OnAir technology will allow passengers to use of SMS-enabled mobile phones and PDAs to send texts, and will also allow internet access through laptops fitted with GSM data cards.

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If the six-month trial is a success, the airline will consider rolling the service out across the Bmi fleet.

Peter Spencer, managing director of Bmi, said: “The trial will help us address some of the social and etiquette issues regarding the use of mobile communications devices inflight and provide valuable customer feedback which will be at the heart of deciding how the service is developed and rolled out across the remainder of our mid haul fleet.

"We have chosen not to implement the voice call option as part of the trial.”

OnAir has dismissed concerns over the safety of inflight mobile phone useage. According to a spokesperson, proximity of the miniature phone mast, or picocell, to passengers’ mobile phones means that handsets will emit only a low signal, so potential for interference with the aircraft’s avionics are kept to a minimum.

The service allows unlimited SMS text messages and emails to be sent. The company is also working with Ryanair, Air France and TAP Portugal plus a number of carriers in the Middle East and Asia.

Charges for the service are set by the mobile phone operators. Some companies charge up to £2 per minute. The in-flight call charge is not subject to the European Commission’s proposed cap on foreign roaming charges.

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