Qatar Airways Permits FaceTime, Zoom Onboard. Could It Work In USA?

With the introduction of Starlink, Qatar Airways has made it easier than ever to conduct video calls onboard through services like FaceTime or Zoom. Would this be workable in the USA?

With FaceTime And Zoom Now Easier Than Ever On Qatar Airways, A Test Case For The USA

Earlier I wrote about the debut of the first Boeing 777 aircraft with Starlink onboard, giving passengers wi-fi download speeds of up to 350 Mbps. With speeds like that come so many new possibilities…and so many potential downfalls.

In-flight mobile phone calls, FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, and Skype have been permitted for years on Qatar Airways. But in most cases, you didn’t see or hear such calls because the Internet connection was too poor. That changes with the introduction of Starlink…such conversations will now be possible.

Qatar Airways has no rules prohibiting their usage, instead stating it expects passengers to “be respectful.”

And I’m okay with it…I’m still okay with it after all these years.

For years, carriers in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia have allowed onboard mobile phone access and we have not seen fights break or even tempers flare. I hear the same argument every time I bring this up – we cannot allow cell phones because there is always “that guy” who won’t shut up and will eventually aggravate “that other guy” and lead to cursing and the exchange of blows.

Folks, this is a straw man. I know Americans are a special breed and flight attendants are deadset against the allowance of cell phone calls, but consider the positive side of putting working cell phones in the hands of troublemakers: first, they are going to speak into their phone instead of speaking to you. Second, if they’re talking on their phone it probably means they are not drinking or kicking the seat in front of them. I actually think much of the rage onboard planes derives from being helplessly disconnected from the ground: being able to speak to a friend or loved one in a tense situations like a crammed airplane will cool tensions, not inflame them.

Of course, I may be wrong, but I think we now have the perfect test case onboard the Qatar Airways 777. As Qatar retrofits its entire 777 fleet over the next several months with Starlink, we will see what it is like when the internet is just as fast, if not faster, in the air as on the ground.

Will there be more people who don’t use headphones?
Will there be obnoxious phone calls and video calls?

I don’t know, but my hunch is that it is going to be just fine…

Onboard internet transformed my travel patterns and made me a much more productive person. I used to take only late-night flights on transcontinental routes because I could not afford to be disconnected during peak work hours from the internet. Now I can travel during the day and keep up on work and my clients via onboard internet. It will be even easier if I can make calls too and I promise not to yell…

I hope United Airlines, which will debut Starlink in 2025, is keep a close eye on all this. Offering a “cell phone section” onboard could be a big value-add…or something to avoid.