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Plane crazy? Mobile phones reach Ryanair

Catherine Deshayes

Within the next week, budget airline Ryanair will enable its passengers to use mobile phones during flights...

The no-frills carrier has decked out 14 of its 166 aircraft with miniature phone masts, paving the way for flyers to make calls at 30,000 feet. The rest of Ryanair's fleet will follow should the experiment prove successful.

But will this relaxation on the use of mobiles in-flight drive less chatty passengers insane? And, more importantly, is the system safe?

After all, we've been told for years to switch off our phones as soon as the doors close on a plane.

Now it seems we can now chatter away to our heart's content. What's changed?

The difference is that Ryanair aircraft are using new technology designed by specialist company OnAir, a system which has been approved by the European Aviation Safety Authority. This negates the possibility of mobile phone interference affecting the systems on a plane.

Whether mobiles ever did cause problems is open to debate. While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence, there are no documented cases of any catastrophic malfunctions occurring because of mobile interference.

But it's clear that an untended mobile phone can emit signals that could interfere with the radio systems on a plane. This happens because switched-on mobile phones are constantly searching for a network mast with which to connect. In order to make that search, a phone sends out a steady stream of strong signals.

OnAir's service remedies that. It places a miniature phone mast (picocell) on board, which handles all the mobile traffic. Because any mobiles in the cabin are able to instantly and easily detect a network, they emit a far weaker signal in order to connect. Therefore, there is no danger of interference.

Perhaps the case could even be made that aircraft fitted with picocells are safer. Aircraft without picocells cannot dampen the signal sent out by a mobile, but passengers can still leave their phones on by mistake.

The new service is not a green light to jabber away throughout the entire flight. You'll still have to switch off your phone during take-off and you won't be able to turn it back on until the plane has reached its cruising altitude. You'll also have to turn it off during landing.

You'll currently be limited by your choice of network provider, too. At the moment, only subscribers to 3 or O2 can use the service. More networks are expected to join soon.

There are some other limits in place. Although you can make as many texts and emails as you like throughout the flight, only six people in the cabin may make calls at any one time.

As for the irritation factor, that's another matter entirely. Public opinion remains massively against the idea, with a recent poll by Times Online showing 87 per cent of respondents voting "no" when asked whether the technology should be introduced.

Supporters of the technology say it won't be as bad as everyone else makes out. As well as the limit on six calls at any one time, the whole thing is fairly pricey.

Call costs will be comparable to international roaming charges, and are likely to be as much as £2 a minute. Texts will weigh in around the 40 pence mark. At those prices, it won't take long for that quick call to exceed the cost of your budget ticket.

Of course, that will be of no concern to the braying businessman who's safe in the knowledge his company is picking up the tab. So you could still find yourself sat next to someone making the sort of self-important ‘business' calls that have become a common feature of modern train travel. Time will tell.

Ultimately, the whole thing is currently just a test. However, if the initial six months prove successful, the technology will then be rolled out across the whole Ryanair fleet. The airline will be keen for that success to come, as it provides another useful revenue stream.

Not only will Ryanair receive a cut of the call and text charges, it also plans to sell mobile phone credit top-ups on-board. Given the tight times all airlines are dealing with at the moment, it may not be long before other companies decide they must also follow suit in order to help balance their finances.

Source: www.msn.com