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Ryanair launches in-flight mobile services

February 19, 2009

Leading UK budget airline Ryanair has announced the introduction of an in-flight mobile phone service, available on 20 aircraft.

Passengers aboard Ryanair's 20 OnAir enabled aircraft will be able to make and receive voice calls at non-EU international roaming rates (£1.50-£3 per minute), text messages (starting at 40p) and email (£1-£2) using mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones.

The service, which will predominantly be available on flights operating from Dublin, will only be available to customers of O2 and to users of more than 50 other mobile phone operators throughout Europe.

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said: "Today's launch by Ryanair and OnAir is the first step to offering in-flight mobile phone services on board 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 UK mobile operators will soon be able to call or text home from 30,000 feet."

Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, was equally excited about the launch: "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."

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