Ryanair, the Irish airline that has elevated nickeling and diming passengers to an art form, has found another way to suck money out of people's pockets — installing pay toilets on airplanes.
The CEO of the famously cheap company announced, with a straight face, that he's toying with the idea of putting pay toilets in every one of the airline's 168 Boeing 737s. The idea has pilots and passengers freaking out, the airline's flacks scrambling to contain the damage and us wondering what happens to the poor schmuck who can't break a tenner.
"One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound ($1.43) to spend a penny in future," the windbag O'Leary said today during an appearance on the popular morning talkfest BBC Breakfast. He seemed genuinely perplexed to hear some passengers fly without cash. "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound," he said.
And it seems O'Leary is determined to take that pound out of their pockets.
Should the plan come to pass, it would mark a new low for an airline that hasn't seen a fee it didn't like. Ryanair is Europe's largest low-fare carrier and a poster child for no-frills service, forcing customers to pony up for everything from using a credit card to speaking with a living, breathing customer-service rep. Later this year it plans to rip out its ticket counters to save a few more bucks. And to think U.S. travelers went nuts last year when US Airways announced it would charge for beverages and snacks — a policy it has reversed because it made the company look cheap.
O'Leary's announcement has employees — presumably even those with enough time to beat up on a blogger — and passengers alike crossing their legs and shaking their heads. Comments posted on the aptly titled Professional Pilots Rumour Network run the gamut from disbelief to disgust. "Is this some kind of joke?" writes one pilot. "I think they've gone a bit too far." Another notes, "Something should be done about this company.... They are the laughing stock of aviation in Europe."
And America.
Others wonder if flight attendants will earn commissions based on the number of passengers who visit lavatories in their section of the aircraft. Advocacy groups are horrified by the prospect of toilets becoming corporate profit centers.
"It seems Ryanair is prepared to plumb any depth to make a fast buck and once again is putting profit before the comfort of its customers," said Rochelle Turner, head of research for the passenger advocacy group Which?. Of course, we're talking about an airline the Association of British Travel Agents calls famous for treating passengers with contempt.
What's stunning is there's nothing keeping Ryanair from adopting the pay-to-pee policy. A representative of the Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates aviation in Britain, told Times Online, "Ryanair is legally able to do this." It seems fair, then, that customers would be legally able to relieve themselves in a wastebasket in the galley if they don't have a quid.
It also makes us wonder if a barf-bag can be repurposed ...
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