It was released by X-Cell Records on 7 May 2001, in German-speaking Europe after Thornton's departure as the lead vocalist of the Eurodance music duo La Bouche.

Other collaborators include Todd Chisolm, Jay Tee Rogers, Martin Mayer, Rob Tyger, Raúl de Chile, and Bobby Stalker.

Upon its original release, Ready to Fly was a lukewarm commercial success, debuting at number 18 on the German Albums Chart.

Following Thornton's death in the crash of Swiss airline's Crossair Flight 3597 in Bassersdorf on 24 November 2001, the album re-entered charts, eventually reaching the top five in Germany and Switzerland, where it was certified gold in 2002, pushed by a 2002 re-issue of Ready to Fly which included her posthumously released hit single "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)", a Coca-Cola Christmas promotional song.

Laut.de rated the album four out of five stars and wrote: "Truly tragic that such a promising solo career was brought to an abrupt end.