Cutbacks are in the toilet

I have to tell you that sometimes the stories I read make me cry. Sometimes they make me angry. And sometimes they even make me laugh so hard I get worried that I may need to change my pants… =)

I also need to tell you that I’m not a big traveler and on the rare occasions that I do travel somewhere it is always by car. Ok, twice it was by bus but NOT in the air. Since I was 18 years old I haven’t been on a plane.

Reading my morning news I came across a story that gives me another great reason to not fly. And it was one of those stories that made me laugh too.

It seems that the Irish airline Ryanair (which happens to be Europe’s largest budget airline according to the story) is trying to come up with ways to save money. How are they doing it? Well, for one thing they’ve eliminated all the check-in desks in the airport. Passengers have to check in online. I can see how that would save money. They don’t have to pay people to sit in the airport and check you in. I’m sure it helps.

Their newest idea would leave me kicking and screaming at the door to the plane, refusing to step foot on board until I had taken care of some very important business however. Business you ask? Yes, business. The using the bathroom kind of business. Otherwise the airline will make me pay if I have a need while we’re in the air.

I’m not kidding! The airline is considering installing coin slots on the toilet doors to make more money for the company and therefore save you money in the long run. I’m sorry but that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!

I’ve never been a big fan of pay toilets. I think that if you have to pee and you’re traveling you can just pull over at the nearest tree. I’ve peed outside more times than you would believe if I told you.

Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of the airline, was quoted in the story as saying “People might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny…”

LOL that kills me. First that they say ‘spend a penny’ when talking about using the restroom and second for the reason I told you before… I am NOT a fan of paying to pee.

O’Leary also said he didn’t think it would inconvenience anyone that was traveling without money because he’d never seen anyone board one of their planes without having at least a pound in their pocket. Pfft. I’ve gotten on lots of planes (back in my flying days of course) with not one penny in my pockets thank you. I think it will cause them issues even though he doesn’t think it will. I could be wrong. Maybe they don’t mind there. I know one thing for sure though… If I ever feel the need to fly Ryanair airlines, I’ll have some sort of Tupperware container tucked into my penniless pockets!