Just a couple of weeks ago, I realized it had been quite some time since we heard something outrageous from Michael O’Leary.  Sure enough, he’s back.

This time he’s beating the drum about toilets but with a twist.  O’Leary claims that they’ve proposed removing 2 of 3 toilets on its 737-800 aircraft which would permit them to seat 195 passengers  instead of 189 at present.  He claims it would save passengers about 5% on air fares.

Let me first point out that we’re talking about a savings of about $4.00 on an $80 one way fare.  That said, I’ll admit that O’Leary is right in that price is king and having the lowest prices has been a very successful model for Ryanair.

I’ll also point out that Boeing has to get such a configuration certified for the airliner and that can be a very costly proposition. 

Will O’Leary get his way?  I kind of doubt it.  At least with respect to the toilet proposal.  Furthermore, what do you do when you have a toilet go out of service on an aircraft at remote station?  Fly without?  That might be asking for more trouble than it’s worth.

But he did get his way.  He got you and me and the world media to pay attention to Ryanair again.

Filed under: Trivia by ajax