Calls at 26000ft

On Thursday the 19th of February this year Ryanair became the first airline operating out of the British Isles to allow in-flight calls on mobile phones at 26,000ft. This new in-flight technology has been installed on 20 of its aircraft and they plan to extend to the whole fleet in the next 18 months.

There has a mixed response to this new advance, with some passengers excitedly trying out their phones at cruising altitude whilst others are seemingly very unimpressed with the sound of ‘hello I’m on the plane’ from the passenger next door. It has been reported that voices do not carry over the background noise of the cabin, but this may well get worse as at the moment only six people can make a call at any one time where as it is expected to be 12 by next year.

There are some very obvious advantages to this advance:

• The chance to let those waiting at the other end know your flight is running late or early.
• Calls to loved ones in emergency situations.
• Keeping informed with important matters, e.g. an impending due date.

However, some passengers have raised some concerns:

• Safety and security at 30,000ft
• Unease at the prospect of listening to other peoples conversations in a confined space. However, Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary argues that no one books with Ryanair for peace and tranquility; ‘If anyone is asleep we will wake them up and sell them a sandwich and a coffee.’
• The expense: Calls up to £3.00 per minute, emails more than £1.00 and texts at least 40 pence, the cost of calls could end up more than the cost of the flight. At the moment the service is limited to O2 customers but the airline believe its only a matter of time before other mobile providers sign up.

Ryanair are hoping that this new technology will boost their revenue, which in turn could result in even more flight bargains from this budget airline.