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Ryanair is again in news for its plans to charge passengers to use its aircraft’s toilets.

Published: 19 Jan 2010

Ryanair is again in news for its plans to charge passengers to use its aircraft’s toilets.

It has been reported that the £1/€1charge would apply only to services of one hour or less, which the carrier believes will allow it to reduce average fares by at least five percent.

Ryanair stated it is currently in talks with Boeing to retrofit its B737 aircraft with one coin-operated toilet, with the other two toilets to be removed to provide room for an additional six seats.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara, according to a report filed by The Irish Times, mentioned that the airline was in talks with Boeing about refitting 50 of its 737- series aircraft with a single coin-operated toilet. There was no health-and-safety issue, he said, although the change would need approval, as Ryanair’s fleet is already fitted with its maximum permissible number of seats.

“One toilet will discourage overdependence. There is nothing in the rule book to say that an aircraft has to have any toilets at all, which might sound strange, but we believe three toilets are excessive.”

McNamara insists the infamous ‘pee fee’ is now firmly back on the airline’s agenda. He explained: “The funny thing about Michael (Chief executive Michael O’Leary ) is that he’ll say these things as an off-the-cuff remark, and then he’ll start to think about it more and more, and he’ll start doing the sums.”