Are Pay Toilets Coming to Airlines?

In March, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary insisted that he was serious about making passengers pay for the right to relieve themselves on flights. He said he was flush with interest in the idea of mounting credit card-operated toilets.

O'Leary, whose Dublin-based airline has pioneered the practice of filling air travel with extra charges, divided opinion by suggesting that his next target would be coin-operated toilets. Aviation analysts and the traveling public alike couldn't tell whether O'Leary -- a cut-throat operator with an entertainingly bombastic style -- was poking fun at his own reputation.

This week, Ryanair revealed its first loss in 20 years as it counted the cost of a huge fuel bill and losses on shares in rival Aer Lingus. But O'Leary pledged that Ryanair would soar back into the black in the current year as fuel costs are forecast to plunge by as much as 50 percent.

O'Leary also said there would only be one toilet on the new planes instead of three which would free up the space for six extra seats leading to lower fares for everyone.

The Ryanair boss told a dumfounded Dublin press conference in March that the days of the unlocked potty are indeed numbered.

"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," he said.

O'Leary said he has asked engineers at U.S. aircraft maker Boeing -- which supplies Ryanair's entire fleet of 737-800s -- to design toilets with doors that open only if you swipe a valid credit card through the locking mechanism. He conceded that his earlier idea, to make them coin-operated, wouldn't work in part because Ryanair operates heavily in areas using both the euro and British pound.

"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," he said. "We're suggesting they go back and look at a mechanism where you'd swipe the credit card for a quid (British pound) on the toilet door. They've gone off to look at that. ... We are serious."

He didn't seek to soften the impression that Ryanair was happy to make its passengers suffer.

"Most people would go to the loo (toilet) before they get on the plane, or they hold it until they land. You would only have to deal with the people who absolutely have to go," he said.

Having access to a free bathroom on flights might be more important to travelers than O'Leary thinks, however. USA Today readers voiced their opinions about the plan.

Who's Saying What?

jdb1972 says: " Great publicity he's going to get. The only way Ryanair will have any customers after this is if they have government restrict competition to give customers no other choice."

soc39 says: "I will just make sure to bring a bottle to pee in then."

toomath says: "It seems the European Union might want to set some basic standards for flight services. Access to a restroom in an enclosed space is a public health issue. In the long run, these policies will open the door to Ryanair's competition - none of this makes good business sense. The chattering alone - even if he turns out not to be serious - is damaging the company's reputation."

blondie0830 says: "Not that I ever plan to fly w/ this company; however, if I do, I will refuse to pay and just go in the seat that I already paid for ... have fun cleaning up that one."

tom87 says: "This is a cultural thing that sounds way out here, but not so much over there. It is common throughout Europe that one has to pay to use a public loo. Of course, they are usually much cleaner than here. This idea probably wouldn't 'fly' in this country."

theyrecoming says: "Survival of the fittest will dictate if his ideas go through. I assume people will stop flying his airlines after you won't be able to sneeze on his flight less you be paying for a tissue to cover your nose with."

Huzkazzwin says: "They have meters to record your water flow and charge for usage. ... Why not have a downspout meter and charge for sewer service accordingly for usage? Makes sense."

One positive effect, he said, would be to "reduce an awful lot of the unnecessary visits to the toilet that (expletive) so many passengers off."

It could also become the next serious money-maker at Ryanair, already Europe's most profitable and aggressively expanding airline. O'Leary estimates if 20 percent of passengers pay 1 pound ($1.40) to use the restroom, this would generate 15 million pounds ($21 million) annually -- which he characterizes as future "fare savings to the traveling public."

Ryanair is famous for offering officially "free" flights that end up costing 50 pounds ($70) or more once fees for check-in, luggage and on-line payment are applied. On board, the airline hawks bingo cards and duty free goods on short-hop flights that can last barely an hour. It offers no snacks or drinks for free, not even tap water.

If O'Leary does follow through with his pay-toilet plan, will the flights look like this 1987