April 5, 2008 – RYANAIR has emerged as the carrier most likely to lead OnAir to the promised land of a first commercial service launch, David Russell, the Geneva-based onboard cellphone provider’s chief operating officer, told Inflight Online this week.

Speaking at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, he said: “For us the analogy with AeroMobile and Emirates is Ryanair, which plans to roll out our service across its fleet.”

OnAir rival AeroMobile saw its comparable service launched on a full commercial basis by the Dubai-based carrier a fortnight ago (Inflight Online, March 20). The world’s first onboard cellphone service introduction, this event marked the end of a long regulatory road which saw both providers repeatedly postponing their commercial debuts.    

“We’re ready to go now with Ryanair,” Russell continued. “All we’re waiting for is approval from the Irish telecoms authority, and we expect to get that in June.” The approval will clear the way for OnAir to activate the airborne equipment installed on the airline’s Boeing 737s and allow Ryanair to start offering voice and data services to its passengers.

To date 10 aircraft have been fitted with the provision for the OnAir system, which includes an Inmarsat satcoms antenna, and Russell expects the total to have reached around 25 by June. The OnAir 737 installation was designed by Wisconsin-based ECS and has been certificated by the FAA.

Another OnAir customer, Shenzhen Airlines of China, plans to showcase the service on two of its Airbus A320s during the Beijing Olympic Games this summer. “Once again, the prime challenge is a regulatory one - obtaining the permission of the Chinese telecoms authorities,” said Russell. “But as far as the airline is concerned this is a done deal and they are giving us a lot of support.”

In the meantime, Air France is trialling OnAir on a single Airbus A318 – the airline switched on the voice capability for the first time last week – and bmi of the UK and TAP Portugal are on course to start similar trials next month. “TAP will go straight in with both voice and data,” Russell said. “bmi is still thinking about which services it will offer initially.”

Both OnAir and AeroMobile include Internet access and email in their service evolution plans. “Our Internet application will be rolled out before the end of the year,” Russell said. “Pricing to passengers will be set by the airlines. Some want to make money, but most are likely to offer it free of charge as a service enhancement.”