http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5298332.stm

Ryanair has announced a deal that will let its passengers make calls on mobile phones and use handheld devices such as Blackberries whilst in flight.

It has signed up Onair, part owned by Airbus maker EADS, to allow mobile use on all its Boeing 737 aircraft.

Passengers will be charged a roaming fee by mobile service provider, with Ryanair taking a slice of the income.

If it gets regulatory approval, the scheme will be introduced by the middle of next year.

"This is another revolutionary passenger service initiative," said Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.

"We will soon enable passengers to use their mobile phones and electronic communications devices in the air, just as they do on the ground."

Ryanair shares climbed on the news of the potential extra source of revenue.

But with aeroplanes one of the few places where mobile phones and ringtones have not yet permeated, the policy may annoy some passengers,

There are worries that passengers bellowing "Hello, I'm on the plane" into their handsets could

hip hip hooray!

Budget airline allows mobile phone use on planes
19 February 2009

LONDON (AP) - Ryanair Holdings PLC began offering a mobile phone service for calls, text messaging and e-mails on some of its flights on Thursday, becoming the first budget carrier in Europe to test the use of cell phones in flight.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said the carrier has fitted 20 of its 170-strong fleet with the necessary technology and will continue to roll out the service over the next 18 months if a six-month trial proves as successful as he expects.

"I think it will be very welcome for people who want to make and receive urgent or important calls," O'Leary told reporters in Dublin. "I think the big users here would be teenagers, people generally visiting friends and family."

Planes are fitted with a special antennae allowing a mobile phone signal to be bounced via satellite to the ground, where it is then routed to the networks.

Calls, based on international roaming rates, cost between 1.5 pounds ($2.15) and 3 pounds ($4.30) a minute, while text messages will cost around 40 pence (60 cents). E-mails will cost between 1 and 2 pounds. Incoming calls will also be charged, but an incoming text message would be free.

The service, which is being provided by Swiss in-flight communications company OnAir, will initially be restricted to customers of O2 and Vodafone and only six people will be able to make calls at the same time. Unlimited numbers of people can send texts and e-mails simultaneously.

Robert Coppinger, an editor at Flight International magazine, said that the limitations could dash the expectations of many passengers, particularly those on a delayed flight wanting to warn family and friends.

Ryanair said it plans to expand the service to all networks and to increase the number of simultaneous calls to 14.

Dubai-based Emirates airlines has had in-flight mobile services since last March and Asia's Malaysia airlines started its offering in November.

The service has been slower to take off in Europe, despite a European Union ruling last April that permitted the installation of the on-board systems. Among the few, regional carrier BMI offers text-only services on one destination route only and British Airways PLC plans to offer a similar service on a new business-class flight from London to New York later this year.

Air France finished a seven-month trial of the same OnAir service that Ryanair is using in July, but has not yet decided whether to implement the service.

The United States and many other countries bar mobile devices in the air because of concern they could disrupt a plane's instruments.

The service will only be switched on after takeoff and disconnected before landing, to avoid the technology interfering with communications between the plane and ground control. The technology is not strong enough to interfere with an aircraft's navigational equipment.