No. Passengers are not allowed to turn on their cellphone at any time during their flight but you can use the inflight entertainment system to send/receive SMS messages. To send a message, use the handset to navigate the on-screen keyboard.

Yes. However, SMS communication can only be initiated from the air. A cellphone user on the ground can communicate with a passenger in the air, but only by replying to an SMS already sent to their phone from the aircraft.

No, only in English.

The cost will vary depending on the situation:

• Passenger on board - US$1.50 (Air-to-ground) / US$1.50 or free (Ground-to-air)
• Cellphone user on the ground - Free (Air-to-ground) / Cost for sending a message is the same as the cost for sending a message overseas and is decided by the telecom service provider (Ground-to-air)

Note: Passenger will not be charged until the message has been read. The rate is US$1.50 per message.

The passenger may be charged depending on the scenario:

Yes

The recipient’s cellphone is not turned on. - The message has been sent to the recipient’s telecom service provider.

The recipient is unable to receive the message because their cellphone is outside network coverage. - The message has been sent to the recipient’s telecom service provider.

The recipient’s cellphone cannot accept the message because its memory is full. - The message has been sent to the recipient’s telecom service provider.

The recipient is outside his telecom service provider’s coverage area and his roaming agreement does not permit SMS messages to be forwarded. - The message has been sent to the recipient’s telecom service provider.

No

The recipient’s telecom service provider blocks air to ground messages.

• If the aircraft has already landed. In this situation, the sender will still be charged.
• If the telecom service provider of the person on the ground has blocked ground to air messages.