Mobile Phones on Ryanair

[AnOther]

It's been mentioned before but it looks like it's definately coming to a flight near you soon [+o(]

There is an article HERE giving some details of how it will work but in a nutshell the aircraft will be equipped with it's own "Pico" (minature) cell through which all calls will be routed, you will not connect to a land base as with a normal ground based call.

There will be a maximum of 12 simultaneous calls and prices will be quite high plus you will still pay your providers charges. The pilot will have control of whether the service can be used for voice calls or text and internet only.

I think I can promise you here and now that the minute some berk starts gabbin on the phone whilst I'm trying to relax or sleep he WILL be getting my cup of coffee in his lap or perhaps I'll get out my book and start reading out loud in AN EXTREMELY LOUD VOICE......! [:@]

[Clair]

[quote user="ErnieY"]I think I can promise you here and now that the minute some berk starts gabbin on the phone whilst I'm trying to relax or sleep he WILL be getting my cup of coffee in his lap[/quote]

You'd be prepared to waste a Ryanair coffee that you've paid for over someone's lap?  [:-))]How much do they cost these days? [blink]

[MrCanary]

Undoubtedly Ryanair will have a special scale of charges drawn up that will include a fee for switching a mobile on and another for turning it off...   (And I agree about the coffee, Ernie!)

[Clair]

The long drive over to the ferries sounds more and more attractive to me... [Www]

[MrCanary]

Clair, I dropped Ryanair and switched to Transmanche just over a year ago now and I have no regrets whatsoever. It is so civilised by comparison! 

[AnOther]

[quote user="Clair"]The long drive over to the ferries sounds more and more attractive to me... [Www]

[/quote]Absolutely, in fact we're taking a road trip to UK very soon because when you weigh it all up, time and wear and tear on the car excepted, it's going to cost less than flying and a hire car plus we can bring back a car load of swag as opposed to being paranoid about going a few hundred gm over the 15kg on what I hear now are quite likely rigged scales anyway !

Airport scales are not subject to legal calibration BTW, did you know that ?

[Clair]

[quote user="ErnieY"]Airport scales are not subject to legal calibration BTW, did you know that ?[/quote]

Even the cheeseman's scales on the market are inspected! What a rip-off...[6]

[MrCanary]

"A car load of swag" - love it!

But you are right Ernie. I drove to France late March and came back last weekend, but my wife had to come back a week before me so she flew out of Tours with Ryanair. The morning of her flight, there we were at our house carefully balancing her case on the bathroom scales to make sure we did not incur one of the massive extra charges. Whereas, when I came back, I was stuffing wine and cheese and all sorts of goodies into my car!

[Pierre ZFP]

I wonder if they'll have pre-recorded messages to send (buy) along the lines of

'I'm on der plane, no DER PLANE.  Canya come an pick me up, cheers doll, seeya (giggle)'

or even:-

'Ah nah, some geezer's just dropped 'is coffee in me lap - 'e must be rich, it was Ryanair coffee'

I thought I'd had the last of that when I stopped commuting to London by train

[AnOther]

Or, "bugga me darlin just my luck, got some nuuta sittin beside me started readin is book out loud, no bloody consideration, I'll talk louder, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW" thwack !!!!!!!!!!!!! [:D]

[Pierre ZFP]

You know the cheering and the message you get if you land on time?  Well I wonder if you can buy that as a ring tone for your mobile?  Just perfect!

[Gardengirl]

We came back on Ryanair on Sunday (missed the snow here, unfortunately!) & had a very loud family group nearby (& no, definitely none of them had hearing problems!) calling out non-stop. Just hate the thought of people like that using phones on the plane!

Next wkend we go over with the car, which will be bliss by comparison, although a very long drive; we're taking stuff down in preparation for properly moving in. However, I must admit that Luton & Nimes seem civilised compared to Gatwick or Heathrow, & we did get pretty reasonable fares on the Ryanair flight, despite not being able to book until the week before we went.

Jo

[PaulT]

Gardengirl

I quite like Gatwick when flying BA as they use the North terminal and that always seems civilised. However, I note that some Easyjet flights are now using the North so obviously more crowded [:(]

[Chancer]

So I suppose that now some money can be made from mobile phone users they no longer constitute a threat to the aircrafts electronic and navigation systems as before?[Www]

An acquaintance of mine in England has an illegal mobile phone jammer that he bought in the states, it is devastatingly effective, he uses it when he is disturbed by inconsiderate users on the train and in the social club which is where I witnessed it.

Interestingly he got it because he was fed up of meetings being disrupted by other people receiving calls whether he was invited to or had called the meeting his-self.

It was very powerful and definitely not something I would like to see used an a plane, however if mobiles do indeed start to be used it will only be a matter of time.

All the more reason to avoid the skies methinks.

[AnOther]

I know what you're getting at JR but there is a crucial difference between using a mobile on a plane and the scheme being implemented.

Mobile phones are adaptive that is to say they will adjust their power output to suit the circumstances i.e. if you are standing beside a base station then the power output will be minimal whereas in a blank spot they will ramp up to full power to try and establish communication. I think you can appreciate from this that inside an aircraft the available signal will be at best compromised if not absent altogether in which case the phone goes to full power and it is this level which can affect avionic equipment.

The proposed scheme employs a special base station which is installed in the aircraft ensuring that mobiles work at very low power levels. Additionally the actual onward connection is made by means of a satellite link and not back down to ground.

I think I know the jammers you speak of also and I think if someone were caught using such a device they would have the book thrown at them, and rightly so as it would definately be construed as endangering the safety of the aircraft.

[Chief]

I suppose all those whining about the possible use of mobiles on phones and the potential for disturbance, are the same people who miraculously have a negative impact on all environments they occupy.  For instance:

You don't want to listen to some inane chat on a phone, but others are expected to listen to your inane chat to the wife sat next to you  (What is it thats makes you a special case BTW).

You don't want to listen to chat on the phone while on the plane, but you don't mind flying over the houses of others and polluting their environment, even though they object.

Neither are you likely to be the sort to have whining kids in tow disturbing everyones peace, nor are you likely to be to so fat that you occupy your own and half of the seat next to you.

Phones on a plane, oh no...unless of course you need to make what would only be an 'emergency' call, then it would be ok.

It must be great being perfect.  Thank god you have left the UK!!

Best advice i can offer, is get over yourselves.  After reading this post i will definately use mine and advise my son and wife to use theirs just to annoy the pompous pr*c*s who seems to think that only their needs are relevant, and that only their way of doing things is valid.  In fact we might even sit in a row and ring each other!!!

As for the prat suggesting (implicitly) the use of a jammer.  I sincerely hope you or others do use one.  The sentence for interfering and endangering the plane has got to be stiff. And look on the bright side, inside a prison cell, mobile phones will be the least of your worries.