You've heard it before, whether on a bus or a train, you'll soon be able to hear “hi, I'm on the plane” as people shout into their mobile phones; our friends Ryanair have announced a deal with communications joint venture OnAir to fit its aircraft with technology to allow passengers to use their mobile phones on planes. Another money spinning venture, Ryanair's entire fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft will allow passengers to call, text and email using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys and Treos by the beginning mid-2007. Rates are said to ” mirror international roaming charges.” Ryanair are still looking to introduce in-flight internet games and gambling.

As if Ryanair aren't proving 'no frills' to the extreme, they are now charging passengers for checking in baggage before flights. The charge for each item of luggage going in the hold is now £5 – £2.50 if notified before the day of travel. Ryanair justified this by saying that it was introducing the charge in an effort to reduce queues and airport handling costs. It said passengers carrying only hand luggage would avoid the extra fee and be able to check in online – reducing their overall ticket price by 9%. Earlier this year Ryanair said it hoped to encourage more people to travel on its flights with just hand luggage. “We have to be more creative as to how we tackle costs,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said in January. Reducing airport and handling costs would also save Ryanair more than £20m over the current financial year, the company said.

Ever tried to buy one of the dirt cheap Ryanair tickets, only to find that your inside leg measurement isn't 31 ½ inches, you weren't born on 23rd April and your name doesn't begin with M?

Back in May, Ryanair was reprimanded by the UK's Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) over a “free tickets” offer. Ryanair advertised three million free tickets, as long as passengers paid taxes and other charges. The ASA said the advert misled, because the free ticket offer did not apply on Fridays and at some peak travel times. Ryanair argued back saying the advert was not misleading, as it stated the offer excluded major sporting events and holiday periods. Nevertheless, the ASA concluded the advert was “misleading” and told the firm to make clear “all significant exclusions to offers in the small print of future advertising”.