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Dominique Faget / AFP - Getty Images
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary poses prior to a press conference Sept. 13 in Madrid. The head of the discount airline is known for his sometimes outlandish ideas.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has a new scheme for saving money at the discount airline: take out the toilets.
“It would fundamentally lower air fares by about five percent for all passengers,” O'Leary tells The Independent.
This is not O'Leary's first controversial plan for cutting costs. He has famously come up with proposals to charge Ryanair passengers to use the toilet, eliminate co-pilots and install standing-only seats on planes.
Although Ryanair has dropped plans to install pay toilets on planes, O'Leary now wants to lose two of the three lavatories and replace them with seats.
“We very rarely use all three toilets on board our aircraft anyway,” O'Leary told the newspaper.
The Independent reports that O'Leary wants to push Boeing to re-certify its 737-800 planes to allow for six more seats. Currently, Ryanair planes have 189 seats, the maximum allowed.
If O'Leary's proposal is a success, nearly 200 passengers and crew members would have to wait in line for access to the one toilet — or cross their legs for the duration of the flight.
No word on what would happen if the single lavatory is out of order, but perhaps O'Leary could borrow an idea from the Dutch national railway and hand out plastic bags.
A Dutch Railway Company eliminates bathrooms from commuter trains and offers bags for people to use if they need a potty between stations. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
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Joy Jernigan is a senior travel editor for msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
Is there no rear end to that man's creativity? Apparently, there is.
Eliminating the services the customer paid for. Maybe the should rename the company Paul Ryan Air. They also propose to throw the old people out somewhere over the runway. Saves a bunch of time deplaning.
Okay, this guy is a looney Wait until he has to clean up a few of his airlines because of "accidents."
Typical Corporate CEO. Money before people. I bet he doesn't fly on his dirtbag airliners on any long flights.
The Best part is you are all Morons. If you knew anything about Ryanair, you would know they are one of the lowest cost airlines around. On this airline you pay for what you get, and when you don't want it (snack for example) you don't. The article clearly states that “It would fundamentally lower air fares by about five percent for all passengers,” Most of Ryanair flights are under two hours, not an unreasonable time to ask people to hold it, or to wait in line for the one bathroom. For people strapped for Cash, this is a viable plan to save a few dollars. Learn about stuff before you complain about stuff
I can just see Boeing saying"
"Sure we'll go through the expense to redesign and reconfigure the weight based ratio of our 737-800 for your cut priced horrid airline."
I doubt it...Think about what you said...he is a corporate mogul who has a private jet with a bathroom made of gold no doubt.
Airlines are the epitome of hell except for Southwest. Now that's an airline that cares about a returning customer. No bag fees and now no change fees. I love this airline more and more. What I don't get is why do people fly United, American and Delta when they can fly SW for a whole heck of a lot less and pay no fees. Makes no sense to me. They are the best.
New ideas always tend to meet with resistance at first. This guy makes a bit of sense. Knowing you are about to board a one hour or maybe two hour flight then stop drinking copious amounts of liquids for about one hour prior to flight. This is practiced by many prior to going to bed at night. Empty bladder 10 minutes prior to departure and then have a nice flight. However, I would still retain one full service lavatory and maybe one stand-up only emergency stall. Ryan's idea is to fly cheap and he is attempting to do just that. Take out the galleys as well. There will also be space for full service airlines.
Sorry but I'll pay the 5% more and be able to take a p*ss when needed. Or I could simply p*ss myself in my seat and watch you spend hundreds of $$ cleaning the seat and removing the smell.
There comes a point when trying to save a few bucks makes you look like an idiot, and that point has been met here.
NO, Friedmegg, it is you who has lost your mind. A vacant lavatory is a necessary requirement for very good safety and health reasons. It is attitudes like yours, where the only thing that's cared about is cost, that has driven half this planet to ruin. You know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
I think that Michael O'Leary is really just making fun of the way airline passengers have turned air travel from being an enjoyable and sophisticated way to travel into a ride in a cattle car by demanding the cheapest fares possible.
Not toilet, mean going to another air line who provide the service....
Friedmegg, you have obviously never flown with children. Tell a 5 year old to "hold it" and see what happens.
O'Leary is crazy as a fox. He knows talking about removal of toilets would garner an even greater reaction than charging for using them. He probably still would prefer to charge to use them; by talking about removing them, people will be more amenable to paying to use the toilets.
Here is the problem... once you start stripping away amenities, you never get them back... and when everyone else follows suit, you eventually end up paying anyway.
Remember when "self serve gas pumps" saved you money?
I think he needs to go on "Undercover Boss" and have 2 of the 3 lavs out of order. Then see how much he likes it.
What an idiot.
Again, people always seem to forget there are choices. I agree, Jen31, if I had 5 year old it would be tough, but there are choices. 1. Make sure He/She goes ahead of time, for a 1-2 hour flight should be very little risk of 2nd requirement, 2. There still is a bathroom, so it is not like they are saying none for you. 3. As Chris from Yuciapa said, you will CHOOSE to use a different carrier. People forget that every single morning people ride the NY Subway/Bus's without any bathrooms. Somehow they have survived all of these years. My major point of the comment was more to the point of not to rail on the CEO, he has a proven track record of keeping his costs down, and surprisingly enough, the other airlines have to attempt to compete, so it slows their cost growth also.
I always make my children pee before a flight, but inevitably, SOMEBODY needs to go when we are on the airplane...like NOW BEFORE I PEE MY PANTS! I don't care about a 5% discount on an already cheap flight. It's not necessary to take out the toilets.
My son flew recently for the first time. He didn't feel well after awhile so my husband took him to the bathroom. My son vomited while in there. Now, if there was only one restroom & it was occupied, the flight attendants would most likely have had a mess on their hands just outside that bathroom's door.
Hmm...let's make "Undercover Boss" more interesting -- one bathroom, a kid pukes just outside the door, & Mr. CEO's gotta clean it up.
Yes, people can choose to fly another airline.....for now..... Won't be long 'till the others do it too.
No $hiT!!
I think it would save more money if you just built the toilets into all the seats. Rock, Paper,Scissors over who sits with grandma?
i hope people start p-ssing and sh-tting in the aisles
Hey joejibblets... I am the Grandma!!! LOL I just read how the airlines are racking in billions with their add on fees... and I do remember when "self serve" gas was cheaper. I have never been on a flight that at some point in time I didn't have to stand in a line to use the restroom. I would rather pay more than "relieve myself" in the isle!!! If one gets away with it, they all get away with it at some point. I may not fly as often as I'd like, but I'd rather have a restroom.
this man is an idiot. shouldn't the removal of toilets, the number of which are set by code, be illegal?
He is So Stupid that he is Idiotic.
Yes, but look above. He's got at least one customer willing to soil himself to save a few bucks. Could there be others?
If this is what they need to stay afloat, maybe they shouldnt be in the airline business. Makes me wonder where they're scrimping WITHOUT telling us.
Stay afloat!!!! I don't think so Ryan air is extremely successful, the man is making many millions of dollars he is just greedy.
Greedy? Maybe. This will undoubtedly be a profitable move.
But consider that RyanAir has been so successful by offering rock bottom pricing and cutting back on service. Apparently some passengers agree that scrimping is the way to go. If the 5% fare reduction cited in the article is worth waiting on the lavatory for, people will continue to fly RyanAir, if not, they'll look elsewhere for their travel needs.
I'm not sure this is as insidious as you make it seem.
I bet Ryanair could make its passengers 50% more comfortable - but then it would mean 5% less profits. Guess what the airlines prefers?
If you gotta worry about a 5% discount on a £9 ticket, you shouldn't be flying anyways. I'd rather pay the 5% and have the option of a bathroom break when needed.
So Chris, you won't fly RyanAir (I won't either, incidentally). That doesn't make this a bad move. It's only a bad move if no one else will.
Or maybe they'd be losing money. Do you have RyanAir's financials so we can review them together?
I love the "If only they'd slash their margins" comments from those who know nothing of business, economics or money.
RyanAir (or any other company) doesn't owe you anything. They offer a service for a price and you are free to decide if it's a good value or not.
Take his private jet away and make him fly on his own airline - in coach.
make him drink a "Big Gulp" before he gets on the cross country trip too.
Hmmm, make him ride in the luggage compartment. Well maybe not, I wouldn't want the animals to get sick looking at him.
AND with a wet paper bag as his personal toilet ..
Worst flight of my life, London to Dublin on Ryanair (thankfully a short flight). Never again.
It's true, Ryanair is extremely uncomfortable. I"m not a tall person, but even my knees hit the seat in front of me.
Brilliant. There's gonna be some stained seats...
I've been on dozens of Ryanair flights and hardly anyone uses the toilets. This is because Ryanair flights are less than two hours. Take out the toilets and charge less! Being able to fly from Dublin to Paris for 10 Euro is great, flying that for even less will be ever better! :-)
Zaphod Beeblebrox-2309729
"Being able to fly from Dublin to Paris for 10 Euro is great, flying that for even less will be ever better"! :-) If the flight is so cheap, why do you care about a 5% discount?
@Zaphod
The worst feeling the the world...is really "HAVING TO GO" and you can't.
Is it really worth 5% savings to you?
There will be no actual discount...but there will be an increase in the CEO's pay for this great idea!
Unless you have the @!$%#s, a two hour flight should be no problem. If you do have the @!$%#s, wear a diaper.
You'd be surprised how many people use the restroom on a 2.5 hour flight from Houston, TX to Grand Rapids, MI. I'd bet it's 10, at least.
Take out the toilets.. sure they will. Will anyone see a price reduction? Nope. Just watch....
The CEO specifically mentioned a 5% price reduction in the article.
If they don't pass on some of the savings, then RyanAir will be offering less service than competing carriers for the same price. Customers will then choose the competing carriers.
they will also save money on the planes, by having the next paint job underwritten by a marine foods company. the sides of the plane will simply say, "Sardines in Broth."
How about NOT painting the plane at all. Did you know paint can add up to 250 pounds to an aircraft?
A Delorean plane. Cool!!!
Actually the American Airlines "nude" skin is more expensive than a custom paint job.
If Ryanair deletes toilets, they're off my list as viable air travel.
I'd just crap my pants.
I wonder if this guy ever flies on his own airline my daughter did and she said it was frightening experience.
Someone please explain to me why this man is still not CEO of Hewlett-Packard...
Because he's overqualified.
Excellent point. In that case, why hasn't Jerry Yang hired him yet?
How about just ban his flying slums from our airspace, and let him do whatever the f he wants...
too many toilets?
According to the story, he cannot add any more seats without having the airplane re-certified (i.e., approved by the FAA and/or the ARB to operate with the higher number of passengers).
This is a big deal, and Boeing isn't going to push for recertification without some compelling justification (i.e. money). Why is it a big deal? Because they would have to re-do the emergency evacuation test to make sure that the larger number of passengers can be evacuated in an emergency in the allowed time. If they cannot, no recertification. Or you might have to put in a larger cabin door, which Boeing probably doesn't want to have to do due to the re-engineering costs.
There is a practical safe limit to the number of people you can cram into an airplane fuselage, to say nothing of ordinary comfort and conveniences. This is a bad idea.
At least you posted a well thought out statement. Isn't is amazing how one little statement, "I'm going to remove the bathrooms", can give a company so much free press? Call him all the names you want, except a dumb CEO.
This subject is right up my alley!
Is this what our (uncivilized) world is coming to, where we are forced to hold it and then, if we can't, forced to embarrass (there it is again!) ourselves. And what are the people who witness 'accidents' supposed to think? Is it to the point where we should be expected to see someone s**t and think nothing of it? It's just part of the human condition? Isn't this where we have supposedly raised ourselves above the apes? What goes on anymore!
Hey Ryan I have better idea how about everyone brings their own potty on the airplane and take that potty right back home after flight? Imagine how much you would save?
You should consider it and I hope I will get money for my sh.ity idea too :-D
Did I bit you in ideas??
Wow, five percent savings! Why not take out all the seats and all the toilets and stack people in the plane like cordwood? He could probably cut fairs another five percent, then.
I have never flown Ryan Air and I never will, no matter how much lower their fairs may be. I prefer to be treated like a human being rather than as cargo. And as a human being, I sometimes need to use a toilet. So sorry if that interferes with your business plan, Michael.
O'Leary is an idiot and an insufferable egotist. He's an embarrassment to Ireland.
My neice, Miss TinyTank, will never fly his planes.
I flew them once and absolutely refuse to do it again even if its free. Ryanair is a study in how much degradation you are willing to take for a low fare. They set numerous traps to charge you extra on the way to the plane, including ridiculous limits on checked and carry on baggage, and a fee to stand in the"fast" cattle herding line to get on. I find their business model offensive and will walk first.
sick puppy! Nuff said.
Wow! Sounds like Michael O'Leary should be up on the debate stage with the rest of the GOP hopefuls, since he's certainly LOONY enough to qualify!
Why not replace all of the seats with toilets? No more waiting uncomfortably in the aisle-ways. This would allow ALL lavs to be replaced with paying passengers!
Maybe he can become the CEO of Netflix next.
I flew Ryan Air last summer from Seville to Venice. They really nickle and dime you with a lot of extra charges. Unfortunately, we had a lot of luggage, and 4 people checking 1 bag each doubled the price of the flight. It was still affordable and cheaper by far than any other flight and even less than taking the train. Every seat was full both ways on this r/t flight. Their flights are short, so most people should be able to wait until landing to use the restroom. One bathroom should be enough. People fly Ryan Air for one reason, low cost!
BS
How much does it cost to clean up after people pee and take dumps in the aisle?
Perfect...