Brief: Air France Will Test In-Flight Cell Phone UseBrief: Air France Will Test In-Flight Cell Phone Use

Another step towards the use of cell phones on aircraft was announced Tuesday as OnAir said Air France will receive an Airbus plane fitted with GSM gear early next year.

An Airbus A318 single-aisle plane fitted with the service will be used to conduct a six-month commercial test of the European-developed GSM mobile phone standard. OnAir, an airbus-SITA partnership, said the trial will be conducted on short-haul flights in Europe and to and from North African destinations. SITA provides flight-focused applications in communications and IT infrastructure.

"We expect this to be the first of many line-and retrofit aircraft, enabling airlines to respond to growing passenger demand to communicate onboard," said Ruediger Fuchs, an Airbus executive and OnAir board member, in a statement.

OnAir said it seeks to provide passenger voice and data communications services for passengers traveling on Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Connexion by Boeing, an in-flight service offered by Boeing, is available on many international flights, although the service is still banned in the U.S.