It has long cost more than a penny to use a public lavatory but Ryanair is threatening to bring a whole new meaning to sky-high prices by charging passengers to use its aircraft’s toilets.
Michael O’Leary, the budget airline’s chief executive, revealed today that it is considering coin slots on cubicle doors.
“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 to spend a penny in future,” he told BBC Breakfast.
He insisted this would not inconvenience passengers. “We are always looking at ways of constantly lowering the cost of air travel and making it affordable and easier for all passengers to fly with us. I don’t think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair craft with less than a pound. What do you do at Liverpool Street station at the moment [when] you need to spend a penny? I think you have to spend 20p to go to the toilets.”
So, what do you do when you don’t have a coin for a pay toilet?
no problem…”depends”. Either that or pee on the seat…would make it much easier than trying to get up, navigate around the damn drink cart, and then wait in line…only to have turbulence when you’re in the bathroom and ordered to “go back to your seat and put on your seatbelt”.
Now I will have to take a crap in the sick bag.
You would be amazed at just how many in the Irish Republic hate this O’Leary man. The surprising thing to me is just how many forget how much they dislike him just for the ‘low price’ flight. Actually, it isn’t low priced if you take into account the cost of the extras, also the return journey, also the many extras that O’Leary adds on. Remember. This is the firm that charged a disabled person for a wheelchair (that, actually was NOT supplied by Ryanair but they gouged a charge for it).
Not surprising that he thinks often of toilets – being one himself. I booked for four, two kids and my wife and me at the same time. On arrival the adults ‘…were not on the manifest’. What happened? Well we had to pay (£400.00 cash,for a one way trip for two, one hour flight Stansted to Shannon), were told the difference would be refunded. It never was, many letters and phone calls later I gave up. Incidentally four others going to Italy were undergoing the same problem, they were trying to raise the wherewithall in cash to re-book. They – Ryanair – are registered in Dublin by the way. Avoids the British Trading Standards pursuit of complaints.
Praise O’Leary in a Republic pub and you may well be asked outside for a re-alignment of your ideas – and your features!
Publicity stunt, OLeary’s always up to this.
Airlines are always having solvency problems. So here’s a novel idea: provide complete and complimentary services, and charge ticket prices that cover the costs?
Would fewer people fly? Yeah, for a while, but not forever. More industries would follow suit, eventually wages would rise and we’d be back on track. It’s not like all major hubs would end up in Beijing. A little inflation is good for the soul.
It’s already bad enough waiting for some of those restrooms sometimes. Now I have to wait for some idiot digging through her purse in front of the bathroom door to find the money to go.
This kind of plan really isn’t very fair to those passengers who have frequent diarrhea (or frequent urination, whatever).
Flight attendants in the future will be horrified when passengers find another use for those barf bags.