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Boeing Knocks Ryanair's Idea to Ax Toilets for More Seats

by Libby Zay Subscribe to Libby Zay's postsPosted Apr 15th 2010 01:12 PM

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Simone Ramella, flickr

Ryanair's plan to introduce coin-operated toilets on its planes may have hit some turbulence. Apparently, Boeing is not a fan of the budget airliner's idea to outfit planes with just one coin-operated bathroom in order to make room for six more seats.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Boeing said the new design would compromise customer safety. However, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told the news outlet he still hopes he can convince Boeing the plan would not slow down emergency evacuations.

Ryanair had announced on April 7th they were going ahead with plans to install the coin-operated toilets on 168 planes. Once installed, the airline planned to charge £1 or €1 (around $1.34) for use of the facilities.

Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for Ryanair, told the Irish Times last January the move to just one toilet would "discourage overdependence" and that the airline believes "three toilets are excessive."

The airline hopes charging to use the toilet would change passenger behavior so travelers relieve themselves before the flight, and the overall weight of the plane is lightened. Their move follows a similar tactic by All Nippon Airways, who last October began asking passengers to use the restroom prior to boarding to cut fuel costs.

Ryanair is well-known for its "no-frills" approach to saving a buck. To cut costs, the airline has installed vinyl seats that do not recline and have no seat-back pockets for safety cards and in-flight magazines. Ryanair has also discussed charging overweight passengers an extra fee and even redesigning the plane to allow for standing passengers.
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:Lori

I have flown RyanAir in Europe and it was like Southwest, only better. My kids took it all over Europe when they were stationed there. Rates were awesome. Upgrade (to get in line quicker) was a few euro. Sad that they are going to take the quality they offered and give it up for the cheapness route. They were efficient, friendly, allowed us to purchase Tube tickets on the flight so we didn't have to stop to purchase them to get to London. Free soft drinks and more safety conscious than any US airlines i've flown with. They must've turned the company over to someone who didn't know better. pity. was a great airlines.

April 19 2010 at 12:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
VIKING

REF: BIG BRI!
You state Ryanair offers value instead of elegance! I hardly consider a toilet as elegant!! Ryanair offer you the absolute bare minimum and treats you like cattle in a box car! I hardly call that value to be treated like so much baggage. These people fly for one reason. That is to milk ever cent they can out of the passenger stupid enough to let them get away with tactics like this! Take out the toilets so we can cram in a couple more dollars worth of cattle. Hell, next they will be putting in jump seats in the cockpit to get a couple more people on board! How about economy seating in the baggage compartment? Might be a little cold, but what the heck, it's cheap! This only shows that they only care about one thing and that is how much money they make off of every flight. But, this can stop! JUST STOP BUYING TICKETS ON THEIR PLANES! Passengers are not cattle and shouldn't be treated as such!

April 16 2010 at 1:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to VIKING's comment
BigBri

Have you ever flown Ryan Air???? I have I took a plane ride from London to Cork... The flight might have taken an hour and I paid about $30.00 (one way) for a ticket which was much easier, cheaper, and quicker then catching a ride to the coast and taking the Ferry to Ireland then taking another cab to Cork.

Ryan Air and EasyJet are the cheapest ways that I know of to travel around Europe. I would love it if we had a really cheap airline in the US like this. I might to not use it for a trip from DC to LA but I would for DC to New York or Charolette.

April 16 2010 at 3:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Stoopendus

I think they're onto something with the toilet thing. Now they can change their name from Ryanair to Urineair or Uryinair.

April 16 2010 at 12:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John

They will probably start selling adult diapers at the airport shops now...lol

April 16 2010 at 11:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Lara

Wonder if the airline has figured in the cost of cleanups and seat replacements when folks start 'evacuating' right there in their seats, for free.

April 16 2010 at 8:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hunt3r.b4rr

This is a load of it, if you are overweight, they will charge you more and take away toilets that you have to wait a hellish long time for anyway and make you pay for the one that's left. What will they do next, take out the luggage compartments and make musicians like me stand their possibly delicate instruments up along the walls, I would get on, say 'Oh hell no', then get off shove through the crowd to the gate and ask the attendant,'What the hell is wrong with you, trying to let us do this', get back on and kick in the door of the pay toilet, then get carried off, to my joy, by security guards, and catch the nearest bus home.

April 16 2010 at 6:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chuck

I agree with Al: You can stop this pretty quick by refusing to fly Ryanair - they certainly will not get my business. As for standing room - what about the requirement to fasten your seat belt in an emergency and with turbulance. Hmmm - I guess those with 'standing tickets' die first! Good Lord! I would NEVER even consider flying with this airline. Reufuse to fly and SHUT THEM DOWN!

April 16 2010 at 5:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DAR

I think that the executives of the airline should stand at boarding area of the gate, and as you board the plane, passengers should systematically urinate on them. I would pay 1 Euro to see this.

April 16 2010 at 5:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rollando

Pay toilets? Reducing the number of toilets to one? Are they crazy. I can see it now, a future passenger having a sudden need to use the toilet only to find he or she is a nickel short from being allowed to use the toilet. Diapers anyone?

April 16 2010 at 5:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BILL

IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF SHIT TO ME !

April 16 2010 at 5:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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