OAG Travel News

Budget carrier Ryanair has become the first European airline to launch in-flight cellphone service. The Irish discount airline is famous for finding ancillary sources of revenue, and cellphone calls and texting could be a cash cow. The service will cost £1.50 to £3 per minute (one pound is currently worth $1.43), 40p per text sent (incoming ones are free) and £1 to £2 for limited e-mails use.

A reporter for The Independent offers an amusing account of the first cellphone-enabled flight: "Shortly after 10am yesterday, flight FR113 from Gatwick to Dublin changed flying in Britain forever by unleashing on the unsuspecting air traveller another budget airline innovation. Precisely seven minutes after take-off, a green light on a newly-installed overhead cabin sign lit up, reading: "Mobile use permitted."

Anticipating the uproar over a cabin full of chatter, Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary is quoted by The Guardian: "I have no patience with the Luddite approach that says people don't want to use their mobile phones in-flight ... You don't take a flight to contemplate your life in silence. Our services are not cathedral-like sanctuaries... We will be encouraging our passengers to make as many calls as possible because that will lower our costs and boost our revenues."

Indeed, The Independent observes, "In an effort to maximise use of its high-altitude chit-chat facility, Ryanair has plastered its cabins with posters of doe-eyed blondes and smiling-yet-stern bosses with slogans such as "She's expecting your message" and "Tell him about your meeting".

The system can only be used above 10,000 feet and currently operates only with select European cellphone networks. Ryanair has outfitted 25 of its 170 aircraft with the cellphone system so far, but says it will equip the entire fleet within 18 months. According to BBC.com, "passengers on routes between Dublin and the London-area airports at Gatwick, Stansted and Luton can use the service. Availability elsewhere depends on fleet distribution." The BBC also has a graphic showing how the system works.

Source: www.usatoday.com