Major airline teases new 'toilet fee' as CEO says 'we are serious' in resurfaced interview
It's no secret that airlines have a captive audience, as when you're trapped 30,000 ft in the air in a steel bird, you're at the mercy of its prices. We've seen this when it comes to shelling out far more than you normally would on a tin of Pringles, while you also tend to have to pay more just to sit next to your loved ones.
One of the biggest gripes is due to space coming at a premium, and the continued complaints about what airlines charge us to take on an ever-shrinking size of carry-on luggage.
These complaints are nothing new, and although the plane market is arguably more competitive than ever, budget airlines are constantly finding new ways to get a few more dollars out of us.
In the latest bizarre bit of plane news, could we soon be spending a penny to spend a penny? Even though we've previously covered the controversial idea of 'standing' seats that could drive down prices, that's nothing compared to the potential of charging passengers just to visit the bathroom.
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Although budget airline Ryanair is known for its low prices, it's arguably just as known for its harsh baggage restrictions and staff being incentivized to catch those who don't comply. In the latest attempt to squeeze us for every cent, Ryanair made a divisive social media post on March 30, claiming that it could soon slap a fee on the little boys' or girls' room, as it wrote: "Coming soon...toilet usage fee."
We can assure you this isn't an April Fool's Day joke, and although the timing is suspicious, the notion of charging to use plane toilets was floated by Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary back in 2009. As reported by The Guardian way back when, there was similar skepticism that Ryanair might charge £1 to use the onboard facilities. Still, with O'Leary noting it could earn the airline an additional £15 million ($20 million in 2026) a year, it was a concept he was firmly behind.
At the time, O'Leary explained there was a small problem: "We have looked into this before and the problem is Boeing can't come up with a mechanism on the toilet door to take coins.
“We're suggesting they go back and look at a mechanism where you'd swipe the credit card for a quid on the toilet door. They've gone off to look at that."
There was public outrage at the idea, but speaking at a press conference, O'Leary reiterated: "[People say] you can't be serious. We are serious. If you look at it sensibly, it would reduce an awful lot of the unnecessary visits to the toilet that pisses so many passengers off onboard a plane."
Defending the scheme, O'Leary said that the average journey time of most Ryanair passengers is one hour, meaning most passengers will go before they get on the plane or hold it until they land.
He said that he could pass the £15 million savings onto customers, while also describing it as a 'cutting-edge' initiative like charging for drinks: "All this pious stuff about if you're serving teas and snacks, you can't charge for entering the toilet. All right then, we'll charge you to exit the toilets and we'll let you enter free, but you'll have to pay a pound to get back out again.
"I think eventually it's going to happen. It's just we can't do it at the moment because we don't have a mechanism for charging you."
Jump forward 17 years, and there was seemingly no sign of a Ryanair toilet charge...until now.
Responding to the latest social media post, one joked: "The good thing - there is no fee for peeing under the seat in front. 😈."
Others saw the benefit as another added: "Good! That'll stop so many people getting up so much on a short-haul flight!"
A third concluded: "At this rate, you'll be charging a 'Seat Overlap Tax' for anyone whose booty is too big for their own row! 💸."
UNILADTech has reached out to Ryanair for comment.