Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said on Wednesday it was in talks with telecoms network operators about launching its own UK mobile phone business.
Ryanair, which recently banned its staff from charging their mobile phones at work, said it may sell mobile phone connections via the Internet under the plan.
Ryanair Deputy Chief Executive Michael Cawley told reporters the carrier was talking to potential partners for the business, which may not necessarily use the airline's branding.
A source familiar with the talks said that Ryanair hoped to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNOs), which means it would buy airtime wholesale from network partners but own no phone network of its own.
Ryanair had initial talks with 3UK, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, but failed to reach agreement, the source said.
EasyMobile, which is linked to Ryanair rival easyJet, launched its own-brand mobile phone service in Britain in March, while airline entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group also has a mobile phone business.
Ryanair, which earns ancillary revenues from charging passengers for food, drinks, car hire and hotels, was also looking at gambling and property ventures for new sources of non-ticket earnings.
"Currently we are looking at some gambling products. That is very much at an embryonic stage," Cawley said.
Ryanair is expanding aggressively in Europe and plans to double passenger numbers by 2012. On Wednesday it launched four new routes to Poland, where it expects to grow dramatically, and one to Slovakia. The airline currently operates 229 routes.
Cawley said it would announce two new bases in June or July.
