Everyone knows that whenever an airline passenger turns on a cellphone, the aircraft's navigation systems go haywire and everyone dies. Thankfully, Air France has figured out a way to magically allow cellphones to work without risk.

Though not the first to do so, their system, OnAir, endeavors "to preserve the flight as a haven of peace and well-being," which sounds nice. Texting at first, calls later.

British carrier BMI is starting their own system this year, and the French will get theirs up and running in 2007. Surely it can't take that long to install a few credit card swipe machines?

Contact information for this author is not available.