At Last: Virgin Offers In-Flight Cell Phone Service

Has the glorious day finally arrived? The day when travelers can resign "airplane mode" to the dustbin of history and text, tweet, and call their way through a trans-Atlantic flight? Well, no. Not really. But Virgin Atlantic has announced plans to allow passengers flying from New York to London to use their cell phones, routing them through a general packet radio service, CNET reports. But it's not going to be cheap.

Using the service will cost a whopping $1.20 per minute, and only six passengers will be allowed to do so at a time. And no, you still won't be able to use your phone during takeoff or landing, or within 250 miles of US airspace. "The service is intended for use in exceptional situations, when passengers need to send an SMS, make a quick call, or access an email," Virgin said. Hey, it's a start. (More Virgin Atlantic stories.)