Ryanair To Charge For Airplane Lavatory Use

Ryanair, ever the innovator when it comes to ‘customer relations’, has once implemented what may be either the most irritating, or the most ingenious way to maximize profits on its ever-packed aircrafts. As mentioned previously, Ryanair raised eyebrows with its new promotion of smokeless cigarettes, and the innovative company continues to keep its airfares dirt cheap by making away with amenities often taken for granted when a customer purchases a ticket for a flight.

For customers of the airline, it appears even going to the bathroom will cost extra. Starting within several months, the airline will begin charging up to one pound, or 1 euro, for the use of the on-board airplane lavatory. In a controversial move, Ryanair has begun negotiations with Boeing, the airplane manufacturers, to lower the number of lavatories on the plane from the typical three down to just a single bathroom for up to 189 passengers.

In this redesigning of the cabin, a single coin-operated lavatory will be installed on 168 of the airline’s aircraft. A spokesperson for Ryanair, Stephen McNamara, is apparently confident that the move will be largely accepted by their customer base. By making clients use the restrooms before boarding an aircraft, the airline will be able to install an additional six to eight seats in each cabin, once again maximizing profits and providing service to a larger number of people per flight.

This is not the first move by the pioneering airline to have drawn both criticism and praise from its customers. It has not hesitated to charge for every step of booking a flight, and charging what has been called exorbitant fees for luggage, both carry-on and check-in. Food on airlines has also been subject to sky-high price increases, with standard snacks costing up to four times what it would were it purchased in a supermarket.

A message from Ryanair confirms that the charges for the restroom will not be starting this summer, and would likely take place in the fall or early winter. Those with their doubts need not worry for now, and as said by the airline’s spokesperson – does a single euro make a difference to the average customer?

[Photo: Mikelo / Flickr]