Ryanair wants to charge for using the toilet in-flight
Ryanair, the prisonships of the sky, are now contemplating replacing the free in-flight toilets with pay toilets that will drain your wallet as you drain your bladder.
"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 television.I've flown some pretty bad airlines in my day, but nothing tops Ryanair for consistently terrible experiences. You couldn't pay me enough to get on one of their flights again.He added: "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound."
Ryanair mulls charge for toilets
Previously:
- Ryanair will fine passengers who board with too much carry-on ...
- RyanAir to UK govt: ease off on security or we sue - Boing Boing
- Judge to RyanAir: no valuables in checked bags? Bull! - Boing Boing
- RyanAir: Airport security is like a strip-search - Boing Boing
- Ryanair flights cheaper as two one-ways than as a return - Boing Boing
the latest
latest episodes
Non olet, eh?
um, but people might only have euros.
Also, Ryan air would only raise, what, £15 per flight for 100 people. Just put up the prices by 15 p Ryan Air. You're gonna get a hell of a lot of bad press if this happens.
Ryanair are truly the worst airline I have ever flown.
I flew to Milan whilst on crutches and was made to pay to board first, asked to stand while waiting for the flight to board (for 30 minutes) and then when I asked for an extra seat to put my foot up on (the plane was mostly empty) was told to 'stop being such a bitch'.
Never in my whole life will I fly them again.
They're just waiting until they can get passengers to lie in narrow crates and stack them more efficiently.
My experience with Ryanair has been fine so far, and I've flown with them *many* times on their route Aarhus (DK) - Stansted.
The idea of charging for using the toilet stinks, though - no pun intended. Furthermore, in Denmark we don't use pounds or euros, so we probably won't be able to use the toilets, then. Just might make one contemplate not going (only problem is that the competitors are all *much* more expensive).
Come on. He's obviously taking the piss and loving the publicity
I saw this on the BBC this morning. The toilet charging seemed to be a throw away line to try and say they consider every way to save money / make more profit.
When the presenter pulled him up about it, he suddenly went wide eyed, realising it's going to be bad publicity, before coming up with the comment about passengers always having change.
Along with the outburst about "idiot bloggers" yesterday, at least it has helped me make the decision to fly to Alicante with Easyjet instead of Ryanair.
They always go on about how cheap they are, but by the time you add on all their extras they are generally not that much cheaper than people like eastjet who give a *much* better service.
Besides I'm put off by the fact that people clap when the plane lands, how weird is that? Perhaps that is just when I'm there but you have to worry about an airline that considers landing something worth celebrating.
I also have friends who work in ukair traffic control and ryannair are considered menaces of the sky.
Sounds like there's finally a first world competitor for Air Canada in the Worst Flight Experience category. If Air Canada could find a way to charge you per peanut, they would.
I like Ryanair. Thats because I never fly it. And this way I don't have to sit next to the people who would rather be on Ryanair but can't because it doesnt exist. Since it does, I am here, they are there, and we are all the happier.
Prisonships of the sky--very funny line. Probably more like your average bus.
Flying between Edinburgh and Dublin, every time I look to book a flight I compare Ryanair and their main rival on that route, Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus.
When you take all the extras into account, Aer Lingus are usually about 10-15% cheaper. They also don't have the shitty Ryanair attitude to customer relations. And when they say they fly to a European capital, weirdly enough they fly you to the airport of the city in question (rather than dumping you at some weird-ass airfield fifty kilometres away because they're too cheap to pay for the landing slots).
I refuse to fly Ryanair any more, if another airline serves the same destination -- even if the competitor is more expensive, or the route requires an additional flight sector. You may gauge my love of Ryanair from this habit.
Great!
That opens new markets for companies manufacturing mobile incontinence products.
this article needs a picture:
http://www.b3ta.com/board/9222744
I'm an ex airline employee.
I would take a dump/leak in the aisle complaining that I don't have the coinage required. A few incidents like that and they might change their tactics. Although I would be led out in chains. Small price to pay.
I truly hate airlines even more than they hate their customers.
If I had to pay a quid for a piss, I'd wedge the door open after I left to make sure that the next person didn't have to fork out.
And hopefully that person would do the right thing by the person who follows them.
Failing that I'd go and piss in the cockpit.
Will there in the future be a Ryanair for every industry? Yeah I know, you all might have bad experiences here and there, but a company who deliberately wants to seem mean. What do you reckon?
There already *is* a Ryanair in every industry. Has been since the dawn of time and maybe even before the Wolf, the Ram and the Heart.
I can name at least three companies I worked with who are just mean, at least one I'd say is true evil and didn't even have to start my brain.
I've seen that look before, possibly even on Michael O'Leary's face. The wide-eyed look after he was asked to clarify was "You think I'm serious? I'm going to play with you some more". It's the same look someone gets when a child believes that the person can levitate when they flex one foot and lift the other one slightly off the ground, creating the illusion that neither foot is on the ground.
I have flown Ryanair in the past quite a few times and will fly with them again. They provide a bare bones flight experience and I'm fine with that, if it's cheap.
the flight attendants are selling diapers too, i heard
Doesn't Ryanair have a drink cart like other airlines? (I wouldn't know, I'm on the wrong continent)
Passengers will just forego the (overpriced) beverages so they don't have to use the toll toilet.
Ryanair will be out both sales.
you know, ryanair actually isn't bad at all and it is extremely cheap if you plan everything in advance. it's like, let's say, ebay. you will get great value for your money if you have time, patience & do the research first. not that hard.
there was this similar story in China:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/11/to_pee_or_not_t.html
Or they might just "recycle" the empty drinks bottles and save a pound.
Uh, that seems like it would cause a public health issue. What about people who get airsick and fill up the bag?
/just nasty
heh heh
http://www.jason-roe.com/blog/free-ryanair-free-flight-bug/
I flew Ryanair everyone when I had an internship in Dublin last year. I had a 4 day week there are flights from Dublin to nearly every medium-sized city and larger. I don't know if I could have afforded it on another carrier. I really only had a problem with the carrier when I forgot to say that I would check my luggage when I booked one time, which caused me a steep fee, and the bus "Paris" Beauvais airport getting caught in traffic was probably not worth the discount in price. Mick O'Leary has stated that airlines should be nothing more than 'flying buses'.
On my way back to The States I picked up a book called RuinAir, written by an Irish commedian. The author wanted to enact revenge after being charged a non-discount price and intended to travel as much as posible paying only the lowest amount. It's an interesting read if you're a fan or critic of the airline, he includeds a lot of horror stories in there.
How much do they charge for disposal of adult diapers?
just leave them in the overhead.
Sounds like they're trying to be the Southwest Airlines of Ireland, but aren't quite clear on the concept. Well, at least I have something to console myself with if I ever have to take United again.
Every seat will become a toilet seat.
Every now and then the comments of O'Leary make me think, what a tosser, no-one should fly on his planes. He's busy creating the conditions to Ratner* his own product.
Worse than the toilets issue is his constant beef about checked luggage - in the future he wants to have only 25% of passengers flying with luggage. But not everyone is flying to their holiday home, where they have a complete spare wardrobe, laptop, kids pushchair and suchlike.
But then every now and then Ryanair just are super-convenient and cheap. I live near Bristol Airport and had to go back and forth to Budapest several times last year. At least three of these flights - over 2 hours length - were 1 penny plus about £20 in taxes, and I only had hand luggage. So great.
Sure, it's not like flying when I was a kid/teenager in the 60s and 70s, but I was spoilt. Then my father was a pilot with the airline we flew on, we got free flights or 90% discount and bumped up to first class, with landings and take-offs on the flight deck.
Ryanair is a kind of hectic jammed-full bus by comparison and not much fun for those not young(ish) or at least fit, but still, generally clean and with newish equipment. And generally on or ahead of time, in my experience. And he must be doing something right, as it is still a profitable operation. So if a plane is going from Bristol to where I want to go, I use them in preference to taking various trains and buses to Stansted or Gatwick to use EasyJet or someone else.
*Ratner - Gerald Ratner was boss of a hugely popular jewellery company in the UK, which sold lots of cheap stuff. In a speech to the Insitute of Directors he said '"We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?" I say, because it's total crap"'. The resulting brouhaha caused a £500 million drop in his company's value and nearly destroyed it.
is the implicit disrespect all right. People may make spartan choices for budget reasons, but spitting in their faces and calling them peasant scum doesn't work if they have choices. Using the toilet when you want( a safe and clean one) should be a human right if it isn't already. Why do you suppose torturers always using forcing their victim to soil themselves as a standard technique? Of course the twit wasn't really serious, but he should be punished for insolence anyway. Maybe he should be seen cleaning public toilets for a few months.
Huh, I flew from London to Amsterdam on RA a few months ago, it seemed more like a no-frills SouthWest for the EU, than a hell plane. I definitely wouldn't recommend it for jaunts more than 2 hours.
I wonder if stag parties on their way back from East Europe will:
(a) share out any spare pound coins so they can queue up and use the toilets;
(b) Urinate into any receptacle near to their seat; or
(c) Urinate onto the seat in front of them.
The planes would soon start to stink as much as their reputation.
See, this totally works in Europe. The entire ticketing system is supported by airport ***** Then have just laid out their pricing structure to the beat of a different drummer. Its now far, far cheaper to fly than to take the train. That's ridiculous, nothing beats the train.
And it totally works.
Not in America, whereas when faced with pay toilets, would pee into their water bottles, in the aisles, or some other 'economical' form of relief. And that's just what would happen with #1.
Mile High Poo Fight!
I'd love to see Ryanair pummelled into the ground - it's a shame they made so much money. I think their lead on price is over though, so hopefully soon.
The last time I flew with them was when they told me I could only have 15Kg luggage (for a week away). I was 5.5Kg over, and they wanted to charge me £72, more than my ticket.
I found out I was allowed 10Kg in hand luggage, and shoved a handful of t-shirts in there - amazingly, this saved me £72.
Dicks.
does anyone make "belly packs"? Like a fanny pack, but it gives you a huge beer belly instead. No law against smuggling clothing. They probably calculate passenger weight at at least 100kg each for flight engineering purposes. Round up your "body weight" with a hidden belly pack and screw the extra baggage fees.
@AIRIKOL: ME TOO!
I hope they will also have a money changer onboard.
This is Urinetown! Always has been Urinetown!
#6 & #19 get it. Living in Ireland we've been listening to and watching Michael O'Leary's extraordinary self publicity tor for the past 15 years. He will SAY & DO ANYTHING to get you talk about him. He truly works on the "any publicity is good publicity".
Amongst other things, he's taken out whole page ads in national newspapers insulting a Minister for Transport, and dressed up as a leprechaun outside the National Parliament & called Unions "scum". I've often heard him call people idiots or tell them to shut up. Ryanair have also been sued by a disabled person for not providing a wheelchair, sued by the Eu, sat out a strike & allow no unions.
I don't like Ryanair myself, but have flown them lots of times, esp. on routes out of Ireland where Aer Fungus don't operate.
O'Leary has also said that he expects the cost of a Ryanair tickets to drop to >, all costs being covered by extras and other companies paying him (advertising/ partnerships). I remember in the late 80's a flight from Shannon to London costing me almost £300, almost a month's wage. Now it costs €60 or €70. So what I'm saying is: there's two sides to it.
And also remember it's not that long since Cory, taking a shot at those pricks Eircom, had a shot at the entire country of Ireland, leaving me to wonder...
I caught head lice from a Ryan air flight to Perpignan!
*really nice, it made my holiday.. after that everything was great.
The pay-toilet policy will then be revoked within a week.
Funny, I've been playing the new expansion for GTA IV, and there was a similar "Pay toilets on flights" story on the joke news station.
I'm looking forward to 2 Travelers 1 Cup.
wouldnt take long before people started just jamming gum (or epoxy) into the coin slots then demanding the staff open the doors for them.
Firstly how did you get head lice. Ryanair have plastic/fake leather seats?
Secondly its a flying bus. Why people still think airtravel should have a weird Catch Me If You Can glamour I don't know. Why do I need a hostess to sit down? Why do I need a checkin desk? Why not visit the bathroom before you get on the plane? If you play by their rules (web checkin, book a few weeks in advance, hand baggage only) you fly across Europe for nothing. If you need to bring a mountain bike or are traveling for a kidney op go with an expensive flag carrier. No corporate BS. Just the promise to get you from A to B, cheaply and usually ontime.
A 21st century coffinship?
Where I'm reading this post and list of comments, the ad banner at the top of the page is for EasyJet. Do they know something?
A Euro?
Surely they should charge fifty pee.
Paying to use a toilet is nothing new - it started in 74AD in Rome!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_toilet
I've been on a Ryan Air flight with less than a pound. Like many people who fly internationally I like to spend every cent I have in a foreign currency before heading somewhere that I can no longer use said currency.
I had also heard their food was very overpriced and expensive so I just took some packaged stuff in my hand luggage and ate that. Wasn't giving those scumbags a cent I didn't have to.
i am with the cheapscate crowd on this. piss before you board, refrain from eating or drinking for a couple of hours, what's the big deal? buses don't have a bathroom and actually prohibit eating on board and noone bitches about it. and the prices are the same if not superior if you consider an Italy-Spain or France-Italy trip.
in flight meals and service where always a way to sweeten the pill for the fact you paid a month's pay for a 2hour(max) trip. i can understand the outrage for a 2000$ 15hour transcontinental flight but Ryanair does mostly short trips.
if you want comfortable for the same price take a train. unfortunately it costs more and when it doesn't it takes so much time that many destinations are off limits for the casual weekend abroad.
ryanair are dicks and treat you like cattle but you have to give it to them for making europe a big village easy to visit on a budget.
lunatic bloggers!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/feb/25/ryanair-socialnetworking
I will refrain from flying RyanAir whenever I can. When I was living in Dublin, I travelled all over Europe on long weekends, and it was almost invariably cheaper to fly Aer Lingus vs RyanAir, after you add in all of RyanAir's extra charges (and factor in transportation time from the random airports that RyanAir flies you to). I'm *sure* he was just taking the piss about this, but at the same time RyanAir has such a piss poor customer service record that nobody would be overly surprised if they actually did decide to implement that policy. I'm actually heading Dublin->Italy for a wedding in September, and I chose Aer Lingus over RyanAir once again.