Ryanair dial into mid-air mobile calls

Flight firm to launch in-plane mobile calls

By James Sherwood • Get more from this author

24th September 2008 15:31 GMT

Ryanair is just weeks away from letting its passengers make in-flight calls using mobile phones.

Although the company’s yet to make a formal announcement, a spokesman for OnAir – the firm providing the technology behind Ryanair’s service - told Register Hardware that the operator will initially equip 14 Dublin-based planes with the required hardware.

Only O2 and 3 have signed into the Ryanair service so far. Call costs will be set by individual operators, but OnAir’s spokesman added that calls could be priced at up to £2 ($4/€3) per minute – a little steep considering Ryanair’s the “low fares airline”.

Passengers will be able to simultaneously send unlimited numbers of texts and emails. But only six passengers at a time can make calls from their mobiles. If others try, they’ll get the engaged tone.

Ryanair’s expected to roll the in-flight mobile phone service out across its entire flight of planes, provided the initial launch is popular enough.