I’m on the plane: Ryanair introduces cell phones
Ryanair will allow cellphones in its planes. There is no such thing at the moment as air cellphone rage. There soon will be.
Head of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, is making sure passengers don’t find much peace on Ryanair flights as crews sell scratchcards, sandwiches and cigarettes. Plus the appalling idea of a mobile-phone service.
Passengers can call, e-mail and send text messages from 20 planes, expanding to 50 aircraft in the next six months and the Dublin-based carrier’s entire fleet if the service is popular.
O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive officer who charges passengers to check in hold baggage or be first to board, predicts ‘enormous demand’ for in-flight calls.
He said in a Celtic frame of speech, ‘Nobody is flying on Ryanair because it is a bastion of solitude where you can contemplate life.’
Ryanair wants the OnAir NV service to boost so-called ancillary revenue, the money the airline generates aside from ticket sales. That accounted for more than a fifth of revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 31, rising 19 percent to $167 million.
Passengers will make and receive voice calls at non-European Union international roaming rates of $2.5 to $3.25 a minute. Text messages will cost about 50 cents and e-mails using phones and other devices will cost as much as $3 a message.
He said, ‘It is expensive but it’s your choice whether you want to use it or not.’
Passengers are still asked not to use their mobile phones during takeoff and landing, and when the plane reaches an altitude of 10,000 feet signs in the cabin switch from red to green to indicate that the service is operating.
U.S. regulations don’t permit voice calls.
In-flight calls are connected via a miniature cellular network inside the aircraft. A modem transmits data and calls to a satellite that routes them to a ground station and then onward to the passenger’s network, which can cause some delays.
Michael O’Leary said, ‘We’ve no interest in quiet zones. It will make a break from the in-flight announcements on a Ryanair aircraft.’
At least the man has the Irish sense of humor.
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