Boeing reveals in-flight phone booths for the video call era

The era of high-speed satellite Wi-Fi has arrived – and with it, the final disappearance of airplane cabins as a rare “offline” sanctuary.

Starlink is of course the poster child for high-bandwidth connectivity above the clouds, partnered with the low signal latency which makes the experience as good as you’ll get on the ground.

Soon to follow are similar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) plays from the likes of Amazon, while ViaSat aims to bring its broadband ViaSat-3 constellation online later this year.

As airlines roll out these services across their global fleets, the ability to stream 4K video is no longer the ceiling.

The new reality is the in-flight video call, and it’s a prospect that fills many frequent flyers with dread.

Boeing is attempting to help airlines get ahead of the inevitable complaints with this innovative “phone booth” concept.

Boeing's 'digital phone booth' concept.

These sound-insulated pods provide a private, sound-proofed environment where passengers can conduct Teams or Zoom meetings, or step away from their seat for a sensitive business call. 

Boeing says these modular micro-office pods could be designed with a minimal footprint which allows them to be located in underused parts of the plane, such as where the fuselage narrows at the front and rear, or tucked away in other parts of the floorplan.

The design includes integrated lighting, charging ports and a dedicated screen interface.

This approach offers an alternative to the blanket bans on voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls that some airlines are now introducing.

Boeing's 'digital phone booth' concept.

While most carriers have long prohibited phone calls to maintain cabin decorum, the demand for "always-on" connectivity makes these rules harder to defend.

By providing a dedicated zone for voice and video, airlines can satisfy the corporate market without turning the business class cabin into an open-plan office.

For many business travellers, the privacy aspect could be paramount: taking part in confidential discussions that would otherwise be impossible at 35,000 feet.

The success of the concept will depend on how airlines value their floor space.

Every square centimetre dedicated to a phone booth is space that could have held a high-revenue seat.

However, as high-speed Wi-Fi becomes a standard expectation, these booths may soon be as essential to the modern cabin as the lie-flat bed.