Vodafone has agreed a seven-year deal with Ryanair to operate as the low-cost flyer’s technology communications partner.

The deal will see Vodafone Business manage Ryanair’s systems for processing online bookings, passenger boarding and in-flight transactions, and ICT for training centres, offices and data centres.

Vodafone Business will deploy a variety of technologies, including cloud, unified communications, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), Internet of Things (IoT) and security services. Some 95% of Ryanair’s telecoms will be managed directly by Vodafone Business.

According to Vodafone Business, its ‘connected airport’ system will enable Ryanair to connect a new airport or site in 10 days.

Vodafone Business CEO Vinod Kumar said: “Airline passengers will demand even more in the coming years, and we will work alongside Ryanair to help them prepare for the future using our full portfolio of products and services.”

In Association with

Anne O’Leary, CEO of Vodafone Ireland, said that the new agreement will be Vodafone’s largest rollout of SD-WAN to date. “SD-WAN provides customers with a greater level of control and autonomy over their network and greater insight into its performance, while saving time and cost,” she said.

Ryanair CTO John Hurley said that the airline’s migration to a new wide area network will enable Ryanair to be more agile in its connectivity.

Photo: Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary and Anne O'Leary (Pix: Iain White/Fennell Photography)