Many headsets are Bluetooth enabled. It is a choice on the Bose range.
It is however very hard to make voice calls while flying, because the signal breaks often.
SMS works because you need connectivity for just long enough for the phone to register plus maybe a second or two, and the packets are only about 200 bytes.
Messaging (whatsapp, telegram, etc) works less well because they need an internet connection which involves (1) the GSM registration (2) the phone has to dial *99# (3) DHCP to allocate the IP etc. This takes say 5-50 seconds depending whether the connection achieved is GPRS, 3G or 4G, with 4G being the fastest. It tends to work if you fly at a low level, say a few k feet or lower.
However taking the scenario in this thread, I doubt ATC will try to contact you over internet messaging because to find somebody on e.g. whatsapp you first need to enter their GSM number into your Contacts and then start whatsapp and it should, eventually, show the person under the whatsapp contacts. Whereas with SMS they can message you immediately just by knowing your number.
I still don’t think many ATCOs in Europe would have the initiative, not to mention the willingness to break official procedures, and get their personal phone out and start sending SMSs to some pilot in trouble. Maybe I am wrong; I hope I am. But my visits to certain ATC units showed only extremely high levels of corporate anal retention.
I liked how they shows the controller going outside of the operations room to send the text… Yeah right.
I finally had time to watch the video.
Man, it is intense. And this last message made me shiver 
This is a true Miracle.
Peter wrote:
I still don’t think many ATCOs in Europe would have the initiative, not to mention the willingness to break official procedures, and get their personal phone out and start sending SMSs to some pilot in trouble. Maybe I am wrong; I hope I am.
100% agree. Renaud Ecalle and his family, no matter what mistakes he made, would be alive with this kind of ATCOs.
Just wondering on “USA mic clicks” to turn runway lights ON for unattended airports, what would are the other alternatives that diverting another aircraft?
Ibra wrote:
what would are the other alternatives that diverting another aircraft?
I would say find a pilot hanging around at the airport and ask him to key the mike on a portable or his plane’s radio.
Ibra wrote:
what would are the other alternatives that diverting another aircraft?
In his situation he could have texted ATC who in turn could have asked another aircraft in the area to click them on. W/o comms this is really a tricky situation.
Loss of comms at night, with no lit runway in range, is probable death, I would think.
However, finding yourself with low fuel fairly quickly was really bad planning.
And PCL (pilot controlled lighting) is almost unheard of in Europe, due to dumb airport closure implementations and, in at least the UK case, for decades, FUD put out by the CAA about “voice” frequencies being illegal for turning things on. Since for ever PCL was legal for unlicensed airfields but few knew it so the few that had it kept it covert. It is AFAIK still “illegal” for licensed airfields.
Peter wrote:
And PCL (pilot controlled lighting) is almost unheard of in Europe, due to dumb airport closure implementations.
That, of course, depends on how you define “Europe”.
Also, in countries like Germany where in practise airfields have to be staffed to be used the question is moot.
It is AFAIK still “illegal” for licensed airfields.
In the UK maybe.
In Sweden I count 21 airports with PCL of which 12 licensed.
