Ryanair launches inflight mobile phone calls

Inflight mobile phone calls on Ryanair flights have taken off, with the Dublin-based airline saying that it has enabled mobile telephony on 20 of its planes. Later, technology for inflight mobile phone calls will be extended to all 170 Ryanair planes.

The technology for inflight mobile phone calls is given by OnAir with whom Ryanair has a technology participation. International roaming charges will apply to inflight mobile phone calls on Ryanair.

Ryanair said in a press release that travellers on the 20 OnAir-enabled aircraft can make and receive inflight mobile calls at (non–EU) international roaming rates (£1.50-£3 pm) text messages (40p+) and email (£1-£2) using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones. These tariffs for mobile calls in Ryanair planes are set by each telecom service provider and are subject to individual price plans.

How inflight mobile calls work

For those wishing to make use of the inflight mobile phone services, OnAir has issued the following guidelines: If you are passenger on a Ryanair flight in Europe, switch on your mobile phone or BlackBerry-type device once the “Mobile OnAir” light turns on. Once you switch on the cellphone, it connects to a mini-GSM network within the plane. (Please note that CDMA is not allowed) The GSM signal, thanks to OnAir technology is transmitted to ground through Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satellite link.  Once the data reached OnAir’s telecom infrastructure, it hooks into the public telecom network, which beams the data across the dialled phone number or requested website (in case of using GPRS for web surfing). The whole process is seamless, and Ryanair’s inflight mobile phone user does not have any hassles to go through. However, Mobile OnAir is still a limited service. You can use your mobile phone inflight only if (1) your telecom service operator has an arrangement with OnAir (2) your cellphone is on GSM (3) you have an international roaming option in your mobile plan and (4) if you happen to be one of the 20 planes which have the inflight cellular telephony technology.

OnAir said that it is working with “Vodafone”, “Orange” and “3” to help their customers keep in touch with inflight mobile calls.

Said Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir: “Mobile OnAir is the most advanced in-flight communications service in the world and this European fleet-wide rollout marks a real milestone in aviation. We are proud to work with Ryanair, the world’s largest international scheduled airline, and to provide their 67 million passengers with access to this new technology which will enable them to send and receive emails, text messages, download attachments and make and receive calls just as they would on the ground.’

Just last month, British Airways also announced plans to launch OnAir’s inflight mobile telephony services on select flights. However, unlike Ryanair, which operated discount flights across Europe, British Air will be introducing mobile telephony only in its twice-daily all-business class flights from London to New York.

Passengers can also use laptops with data cards and USB modems with GSM-GPRS facility to surf the web from their passenger seat. Airlines equipped with OnAir services can choose to provide voice and data or data services only, depending on time of the day and passenger preferences. OnAir said that an increasing number of commercial airlines either currently offer OnAir inflight mobile call services or plan to offer them soon. Air Asia, Airblue, Kingfisher, bmi, Jazeera Airways, Oman Air, Royal Jordanian, Shenzhen Airlines, TAM, TAP and Wataniya Airways are among the airlines which hope to offer inflight mobile calls in the near future.

Emirates Airline’s Aeromobile service has been extremely popular. The airline has installed the Aeromobile service on 31 of its aircraft that depart daily from Dubai to many worldwide destinations. Yesterday, they announced the 100,000 user of the service on Emirates.

The European Commission allowed inflight mobile phone calls on European airlines in 2008.

Passengers agree that the ability to make phone calls while flying is a convenience alright, but there are worries about the nuisance factor. People are not exactly considerate while using public transportation facilities and making phone calls – in the confined environment of an aircraft, a passenger who is noisy on the phone can lead to problems of air rage and could be an additional headache for the flight attendants. Several passenger education initiatives are being talked about as a means to educate inflight mobile phone users about online mobile call ettiquette.

India’s luxury airline Kingfisher had announced plans to enable inflight mobile phone usage in 2007. In 2008, Kingfisher applied to India’s DGCA for permission for mobile services, but given the current state of India’s airlines, it does not look like their priority for the moment.