Pay-for-loo

[Miss Chicken]

How would you feel if you had to pay to use the toilet on a plane flight?

Low cost airlines are notorious for their add-ons; food and checked-in baggage cost extra on many Australian flights.
Now no-frills airlines overseas are going even further. Ireland's Ryanair has confirmed it plans to charge customers to use the toilets and an American low-cost carrier wants to charge people to use overhead lockers if their bags do not fit under the seats in front of them.
It may seem outrageous to some but analysts say there is a good reason airlines might start to charge for using overhead lockers or toilets.
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation chairman Peter Harbison says wafer thin margins are behind the moves.
"First of all they can get an extra half-a-dozen seats in, which is more than the profit usually for a whole aircraft operation," he said.
"It saves them a lot of money in servicing two additional toilets. All those sorts of issues, they all add up quite considerably."

rest of story here


It probably wouldn't upset me greatly as I only fly to Adelaide and I don't usually have to use the loo on the less than two hour flight. I don't tend to use the overhead locker either.

 

[StolenThunder]

I think that it is a psychologically frustrating pricing model, especially when they start adding 'unavoidable' charges - such as using a card to pay online, or to check in! I'd be happy for them just to give me an inclusive price.

 

[SmoothieX]

I might just go ahead and poop my pants.

 

[B.J.]

That's just stupid. I'll bet pay toilets have never worked as a business model, and there has to have been backlash against it before, or we'd see them everywhere. Since it's a low cost carrier, I wonder what will happen the first time a child who's on a trip to see grandma has to use the bathroom, especially if they don't have a credit card (I doubt they'd take cash)?

 

[Udat]

*Hates airlines* Bunch of crooks! Anyone heard of airport tax.

 

[Amaris]

I'll just get a seat in the very front, unzip, and then just let it fly.

 

[Udat]

^ Brave....

 

[Amaris]

^ Brave....

I prefer the term "necessary".

 

[Warp Coil]

At the rate they're going, airlines will soon start charging passengers extra if they want an actual seat with a seatbelt. They'll make everyone stand around and hold on for dear life because they can squeeze in a few extra passengers and save costs.

 

[Holdfast]

At the rate they're going, airlines will soon start charging passengers extra if they want an actual seat with a seatbelt. They'll make everyone stand around and hold on for dear life because they can squeeze in a few extra passengers and save costs.

That keeps getting mooted, actually. Especially for some Far Eastern routes. Sooner or later it will happen for real.




On topic: let them use the toilet for free.

But don't let them dispense any toilet paper until they pay.

 

[sbk1234]

I already pay to use the toilet on a flight. It's called my ticket. I pay hundreds of dollars and I'm literally trapped on this vehicle until it lands and I can get off at the next airport.

Unfortunately, if the airlines all decide to do it, the only recourse would be not to travel at all. Often driving is out of the question due to time limitations. So people will have to suck it up and pay.

I do wonder if there are any legal issues, since the toilet can't be considered a luxury or optional item. You can't bring your own like you can pack a lunch. Theoretically, you can bring carryons that fit under the seat. But not needing the bathroom - especially on a long flight - is out of a person's control.

I wonder how many will simply just use the barf bags for this instead.

 

[Holdfast]

You can't bring your own like you can pack a lunch.

I wonder if this would fit in an overhead bin?

 

[sbk1234]

But then you'd have to pay to put it in the overhead bin.

 

[Holdfast]

But then you'd have to pay to put it in the overhead bin.

Hmm, they think of everything.

Hang on a minute, I've got the perfect solution, and it will fit under your seat:

 

[Josh Kelton]

Sounds like the sort of thing the Ferengi would do

 

[T'Bonz]

One of the things I HATED about my first Europe trip was paying "piss geld" as a German termed it to use the damned bathroom.

I had trouble when I went to Dublin on a day trip once, because all I had was American and UK coins. I didn't realize that I would be in a place where the only bathrooms were pay or I'd have converted some money (couldn't do it in the bus station) *before* I left Belfast.

Point of this is, I DON'T want to see this B.S. on flights too. If you have to raise airline prices, DO it and quit the stupid nickel and dime-ing, it doesn't fool anyone and it just pisses us off.

 

[Udat]

^lol the Ferengi running the airlines.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Meh, as long as they keep it limited to the short flights like mentioned in the article (45min-1 hour), I don't see the issue. People can go before or should be able to hold it. However, it's kinda stupid if they start trying to apply it to long flights.

 

[Non Sync]

At the rate they're going, airlines will soon start charging passengers extra if they want an actual seat with a seatbelt. They'll make everyone stand around and hold on for dear life because they can squeeze in a few extra passengers and save costs.

A couple of airlines have actually been looking at "standing" airline seats.

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/267888_seats25.html

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

Yeah i've been to pay toilets before, when my family and i went to Mexico. I'd rather not have to pay to poop on a plane.