European budget airline Ryanair often has very cheap flight deals – it’s not uncommon to pay less than $1 (plus tax) for a ticket at times. But it makes money in other ways. If you want to check-in in-person, rather than online, you pay extra, and the same for every piece of checked luggage.
So it’s perhaps no surprise that they’re rolling out in-flight mobile calls and texts as another way to make money, and at $4.50 a minute, they’re not cheap. Initially the calls are just available on flights to and from the airline’s home in Dublin, but will be available on all routes in the coming months. Passengers can make calls and text after the plane climbs above 10,000 feet.
Company chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
"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. Anyone who looks like sleeping, we wake them up to sell them things."
"We will be encouraging our passengers to make as many calls as possible because that will lower our costs and boost our revenues."
Ryanair has partnered with OnAir for the service, and its chief executive, Benoît Debains, added:
"Flights are now the last place where you cannot be reached if needed. If you’re on a six-hour flight and your bank goes bankrupt you would want to know. If not, you can always switch your phone off."
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