Posted on 06/08/2009 5:36:59 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
In an era where airlines are charging for just about every service, one carrier may start dinging customers for using the bathroom.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary says the European no frills airline will start charging customers about one-dollar-65-cents to use the toilets on its flights.
The "Guardian" says O'Leary did not announce a firm start date for the change, but expects the toilet charge to be in place on Ryanair planes within two years.
O'Leary told reporters he's asking Boeing to investigate the possibility of putting credit-card readers on toilet locks in their new jets.
And, the charges may not stop there.
Ryanair says it may also begin charging customers for air-sick bags if they're needed and has proposed eliminating baggage handlers by having passengers load luggage onto aircraft.
The latter proposal isn't flying with some airport officials, who cite security and practical considerations of such a move.
O'Leary is giving some passengers a break, saying he is standing firm against the possibility of charging obese passengers more for their flights because he regards the idea as, quote, "impractical." The airline's proposals to implement the new charges come after the carrier's first full-year loss in nearly two decades.
Why don’t they just charge $5 to the price of the ticket?
Good grief!
And if passengers refuse to pay?
I guess they will have card swips on the toilet doors. So you will have to make sure you time your trip to the bathroom to allow some time for your card to get approved! LOL!
Next comes the per-square charge. You may also have to by an offset.
They can bring along one of these.
You'll be required to have a govt issued card to use the toilet but you won't need any ID whatsoever to vote. That would be illegal and racist.
All of these fees are simply a waste of time when personnel could be doing IMPORTANT things.
Add a few bucks to the price of each ticket.
For God’s sake, who is running these companies?
Sounds like the better choice would be to flush O'Leary.
actually you would be suprised about this guy....he is one of the most firebrand capitalist ceo you can find.....he is also very VERY anti union and a lot of these things are to draw attention to union excesses...
he also does these things to draw attention to the hidden costs that all airlines lob in. the EU hate him. I have travelled a lot with them. for example i can fly SAS to stockholm for 200 euro or i can fly 35euro on ryanair. Of course his airport is over an hour away BUT it is a huge difference...
he did it on bags, he did it on weights, airport charges...most of the time he is doing it to stiff a union somewhere....He actually despises the airport unions here in Dublin...
i would bet my bottom dollar he is fed up with some union hack charging for emptying the planes and is trying to air the cost of poo....LOL
watch this unfold...sooner or later the real reason will begin to smell....and it wont be an airline toilet..>!!!!
“And if passengers refuse to pay?”
Ryanair has easy to wipe off and clean passenger seats. Helps make their 20 minute turn around possible. See a yellow puddle, wipe with a Clorox Wipe, and you’re good to go for the next load of passengers.
Seriously though, Has anyone ever ridden a Greyhound bus in the last century? Pay toilets are not a new concept. Not on the busses themselves, but at many of the terminals, you better have a quarter in your pocket.
Ryanair charges ridiculously low prices and still manages to make a profit, even during the post 9-11 downturn. Other European airlines are jealous of their success and complain that they are not playing fare They keep their seats full, and passengers coming back, and they buy All Boeing, and have many more A/Ps on order.
I would expect them to cut corners where they can to keep their tickets from Belfast to London at $14, and from Belfast to Munich at $24. If passengers can pay that low of fare, they should be able to have enough left over for a pocket of coins in case they have to use the potty.
Ryanairs Toilet Fee: PR Success
Slow learners, these guys...
In the case of a toilet on the plane, I agree with you somewhat. But this could be viewed as another ‘pay-as-you-go’ (no pun intended) scenario. It is like raising everyone’s taxes to pay for roadside parks ... why not just put a turnstile at the gate and only the folks who use the park pay for it? Pay-to-play should be the rule, not the exception.
Clearly, Mr. O’Leary subscribes to the Roman maxim of “Pecunia non Olet”.
Here I sit broken-hearted...
then one day I took a chance
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