Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to introduce the world's first in-flight SMS service, which will allow passengers to have questions answered on any topic at 35,000 feet, a Reuters report said.
The report said passengers would be able to text questions from their seat-back TV screens to an existing land-based text answer service, which promised to answer any question within minutes.
"It's a great way to ask for a recommended bar in New York , what's the best way to get over jet-lag, or what's the best way to chat up the cabin crew," a Virgin spokeswoman was quoted as saying.
The report said airlines globally were scrambling to find new ways of increasing non-ticket sales and getting more passengers onto planes with the promise of more luxurious and fun ways to pass the time in the air.