If Ryanair, the aggressive European low-fare carrier, wanted to A) raise travelers' hackles or B) get their name in print and on the air, they couldn't have picked a better subject than the possibility of converting their lavatories into pay toilets.
The Associated Press's widely printed story tried to make light of the situation by inserting reportorial witticisms and pithy quotes:
"When nature calls at 30,000 feet, is $1.40 a wee price to pay? Or could it
force passengers without correct change into a whole new kind of holding
pattern? The head of budget European airline Ryanair unleashed a flood of
indignation and potty humor Friday when he suggested that future passengers
might be obliged to insert a British pound coin for access to the lavatory to
get some in-flight relief.
"Airline chief Michael O'Leary suggested that installing pay toilets would
lower ticket costs and make flying, somehow, easier for all. Not even his own
aides seemed to be sure if he was serious or pursuing his penchant for making
brazen declarations to get free publicity for Ryanair....
"O'Leary spokesman Stephen McNamara said his boss often spoke tongue in
cheek - but he then defended the idea of in-flight pay toilets as part of a
logical trend. 'Michael makes a lot of this stuff up as he goes along and, while
this has been discussed internally, there are no immediate plans to introduce
it,' McNamara said, adding, 'Passengers using train and bus stations are already
accustomed to paying to use the toilet, so why not on airplanes? Not everyone
uses the toilet on board one of our flights, but those that do could help to
reduce airfares for all passengers.'
"Analysts agreed that the man who pioneered charging passengers to
check bags, to use a check-in desk and even to use a credit or debit card to
make an online booking just might be serious about mile-high toilet
extortion....
"Not surprisingly, passengers reacted with indignation and outrage at the
prospect....'Your only choice with Ryanair, really, is not to fly Ryanair. Your
dignity goes out the window. If you have a complaint, they're not programmed to
care," said Samantha Jones, a 30-year-old Welsh woman.She discounted the practicality of a restroom rebellion. 'If you are given a choice between wetting your knickers or not wetting your knickers, you will pay whatever fee they make you pay, and Mr. O'Leary knows this well,' she said. 'Frankly, I'm surprised he's talking about letting us have a wee for a pound, not more!'"Rochelle Turner, head of research at British consumer rights magazine Which? Holiday, said Ryanair had a well-documented practice of putting profit before the comfort of its customers" - but this one could backfire. 'Charging people to go to the toilet might result in fewer people buying overpriced drinks on board. That would serve Ryanair right...
"Noah Cole of Portland, Ore., who has flown on Ryanair, called it "unconscionable" to charge for a bathroom, and he even predicted money-changing problems. In other words, if you only have dollars, can you still euro-nate?..."
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