(Amman, 16 June, 2008): Orange, the sole integrated operator in the Kingdom, has announced the commercial launch of the in-flight roaming services, enabling Orange subscribers to use their mobile phones and smartphones to send and receive text messages, and make and receive phone calls during flights on several airliners.

Orange had previously announced the marking of this agreement in April press conference, which was signed by Mrs. Majd Shweikeh CEO of Orange Mobile and her counterpart at the Swiss "OnAir" Mr. Benoit Debains.

Commenting on the newly introduced service, Mrs. Shweikeh said: “The ability to use mobiles during flights is a revolution in today’s telecom world. It is attracting massive interest from GSM operators and global airline companies. Orange is introducing this service as a representation of its continuous efforts to provide its customers with the most up-to-date technologies”.

Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, said, “OnAir is very pleased to sign this agreement with Orange in Amman, a global provider and an important operator for the region’s passengers who will now get the choice to stay connected in flight. It’s a dynamic and very exciting region where we have a strong customer base through deals with Royal Jordanian, Jazeera Airlines and Oman Air, with more to follow soon. ”

This service enables all Orange customers with an international roaming subscription to stay in touch with others during flights by using their handsets, especially advanced handsets such as the BlackBerry device, giving passengers the opportunity to send and receive phone calls and SMS as well as checking their emails.” 
Debains also added: "The service is already available in Europe and will soon be offered on a number of airlines in the region and world wide".
“OnAir’s service with Orange, called Mobile OnAir, is already operating with Air-France, and will soon be flying with TAP Portugal, Ryanair, Shenzhen Airlines (China) and many others to become one of the leading companies in the world that provides this service,” Shweikeh concluded.

-ENDS-

About OnAir
OnAir was incorporated in February 2005 and is owned by Airbus and SITA, the aviation IT experts.

OnAir’s goal is to give airline passengers the ability to communicate from the sky. The
OnAir service portfolio addresses passenger voice and data communications needs on both long- and short-haul flights, on Airbus, Boeing and business aircraft, with Airbus KID-Systeme acting as the integrator of the onboard systems required to access the OnAir services. OnAir focuses on passengers’ needs, offering choice, and ensuring an economically viable business model for airlines. OnAir is a member of the GSM Association and an Inmarsat Distribution Partner for SwiftBroadband services.

For further information, go to www.onair.aero