Ryanair to send free SMS alerts for flight delays of over 90 mins

Ryanair, Europe's low cost airline, has announced that passengers who experience very rare Ryanair flight delays, of over 90 minutes, will now receive free text message updates to advise them of the likely duration of the delay and their new departure time.
 
The service, developed in partnership with Sentient, is a new addition to Ryanair's existing email/text and website passenger communications and will be particularly useful during periods of severe disruption such as bad weather, ATC strikes or widespread airspace closures (e.g. volcanic ash).
 
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said: "Ryanair delivers Europe's No 1 customer service and our new text alerts system will ensure we stay No 1.  Now passengers who have provided us with complete mobile numbers will receive real-time information if they experience a rare flight delay of over 90 mins.
 
The latest SITA study found an estimated 95% of airline passengers carry a mobile phone when they travel and our new system will ensure passengers are kept fully informed during periods of mass disruption, such as bad weather, air traffic control strikes or airspace closures."
 
Sentient's Derek Corcoran said: "Sentient worked closely with Ryanair to design a pan global messaging application to ensure timely and accurate information for passengers, delivering real-time flight information via multi-lingual SMS."