Ryanair Offers In-Flight Phone Calls

European low-cost airline, Ryanair has launched an in-flight mobile phone service initially onboard 20 of its, mainly Ireland based aircraft. This is the first step in fitting Ryanair's entire fleet of over 170 aircraft to allow all passengers to make and receive mobile calls and texts on all Ryanair flights.

Passengers on Ryanair's 20 OnAir enabled aircraft can now make and receive roaming voice calls at between €2-€3 per minute - which is considerably higher than the recommended levels from the European Commission.

The service will initially be available to 02 and Vodafone customers and to customers of over 50 other mobile phone operators across Europe. At the launch OnAir confirmed that it is working with other Irish mobile operators (3 and Meteor) to ensure that their customers can also keep in touch with the office, family and friends when travelling.

Michael O'Leary said "Today's launch by Ryanair and OnAir is the first step to offering in-flight mobile phone services onboard our entire fleet of over 170 aircraft over the next 18 months. This service will allow passengers to keep in touch with the office, family or friends. We expect customer demand for this service to grow rapidly and hope that customers of all Irish mobile operators will soon be able to call or text home from 30,000 feet to tell loved ones of yet another on time Ryanair flight."

Posted to the site on 20th February 2009