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Would you pay for an empty bladder?
Aaron Hotfelder votes "Yes!" for Ryanair's pay-to-play approach to in-flight urination. I go with more of a "maybe," as I tend to support anything that helps airlines bring in a bit more cash – after all, they need it. But, I can see why the average passenger wouldn't be too thrilled about popping a few coins in the slot. Apparently, there are plenty of people out there with opinions.
TripAdvisor just conducted an online poll; 5,300 people responded. The results are as predictable as you'd expect. An overwhelming 78 percent of respondents are not interested in shelling out cash for the privilege of flushing. Can you blame 'em? When you stroll down the aisle toward that green light (i.e., "vacant"), you have one thing on your mind, and it isn't the change in your pocket. Another 19 percent feel that pay-to-pee is reasonable ... if the flight is cheap enough. The remaining 3 percent would be willing to pay regardless of the cost of the flight.
Thankfully, Ryanair tends to stay short-haul, so if you hit the bathroom before you board, you should be fine until landing.
| Yes, airlines need the cash | |
|---|---|
| Yes, but only if the flight's dirt cheap | |
| Only if the airline comps me tons of liquor | |
| Never! |
More crazy stories from the skies
Filed under: Europe, United Kingdom, Airlines
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
verdegrrl@mac.com Jun 11th 2009 12:26AM
Only if they leave on time and the flight is less than 2 hours.
Princess Poon Jun 13th 2009 12:45AM
I will bet my airline ticket that people will be finding bottles full of urine all over the planes from now on if they institute this ridiculous charge.
masanddjs Jun 11th 2009 1:04AM
Paying to pee isn't a privilige, it's a right, once you purchase your ticket. I hope that people boycott Ryanair. I live in Europe and there are MANY low cost carriers that have better service, attendants, and FREE TOILETS!
gary Jun 11th 2009 3:43PM
I'll just pee in the seat, for free, since I paid $900. for it for a 3 hr flight. Or there will lots of peed in jars and bags left in each seat.
Brandy Jun 12th 2009 8:14PM
Ha ha! I would piss my pants too. What's next, charging for oxygen?
sumthn Jun 12th 2009 8:09PM
I think the concept of paying to pee should be applied across the board, not just on the plane. I have seen quite a few public bathrooms and have been very disgusted with the look of it and the smell. I believe that if people had to pay to use it they might have a little bit more respect.
al Jun 13th 2009 12:09AM
i totaly side with you on that one and beeing a woman i can say this "women are so filthy in the public bathrooms" pee on the seats and the floor and tissue paper on the floor yuck......
John F.C. Taylor Jun 12th 2009 8:08PM
Pay to use an in flight toilet? No way! Besides, travelling with a pocket full of change is uncomfortable.
Larry Jun 12th 2009 8:19PM
This is insane! Iwas kept trapped in an AA craft from Close of cabin door to tarmac back to gate 4 hours later had to sleep on air port floor with no blankets and my 4 pm flight finally left @ 6 am the next day with no weather delays. Could any one hold it .
gregg Jun 12th 2009 8:24PM
If they have the nerve to charge simply
pinch out a loaf in the isle of the plane.
rollin Jun 12th 2009 9:11PM
I've got to learn from the airlines, could use the money these days !!! When I rent out an office suite which includes a bathroom(s), I'm neglecting to collect extra for the bathroom(s), stupid me! I'm headed now to find some toll locks to put on the bathroom doors.
Thanks for the tip!!!
ps: Do the locks have #1, #2, or #3 on them, with the corresponding coin slots?
Brent Jun 12th 2009 9:20PM
CLEAN UP in aisle one!!!!
xzeleous Jun 12th 2009 9:20PM
They charge you for everything else. Your sitting in an uncomfortable seat without the lights on. Your lucky to get a can of soda or juice.
Flying is uncomfortable as it is. Even Six Flags, who is notorius for nickle and diming people as an amusement park company doesnt charge for bathrooms. The fact ANY airlines would do so is an outrage, and I hope all that do will watch as their failed buisness model bursts into flames along with their profits.
cathy Jun 12th 2009 9:36PM
Paying to use a rest room at the mall is one thing, you have multiple choices on which facilites to use, and how long you wish to stay on their property. While in flight you have no other option to stay, or which facility to use while in flight. What is going to happen to the person who ends up sick midflight. You going to make them stay outside of the toliet while they dig out their money as they're flighting off an upset stomach or intestines? You're asking for a really big clean up job. Hey maintence department...start hollering loudly on this one like you did for the non-smoking to be required while in flight. Can you imagine the time spent cleaning between flights while they're shampooing seats? Good grief. Enough is enough. Set the tickets $2.00 more if you're really concerned about money. But don't hold bladers hostage. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it...how are you going to deal with unaccompanied minors traveling without credit cards to be used? You going to tell the 6 year old to 'hold it' because his parents didn't send a credit card with him and he just downed a 20 oz bottle of pop?
Let's think this thinK through...
mage0213 Jun 12th 2009 10:02PM
In order to answer this question.. 1) do restaurants charge patrons to use the potty? meals are gernally less than 2 hrs long. do Grocery stores charge for the potty? Do Gas Stations charge for the potty? do busses charge for the potty? waht about trains? do I dharge my guests to use the potty? NO aside from me what do all these have in common? answer they offer a service just like an airline offers a service. if the airline wants to charge to use the potty they better get used to a LOT of people just getting fed up with it and pooping or peeing in the aisleways.. I realize that is pretty extreme but it will make a point.. what about those who suffer from IBS or otherwise weak kidneys? These people generally fly because they want to get somewhere quickly and are already paying top dollar to fly.. look at all the fees airlines already charge.. I think a potty fee is not only unfair and predjudicial, but just plain bad business.. what if the other businesses started charging for bathroom priviledges? I think that their clientelle would basically give them the finger and they would go out of business. maybe the airlines need to go out of business.. they are a higher risk now than the automobile.. look at the sheer numbers that die in airplane crashes.. Air France.. 200 plus.. and that is just one plane.. anyone who says look at their success rate needs to look at how would they feel if they or their loved ones were killed in an airline crash. the air traffic is NOT safer than other forms of transportation.. even IF they may only have a lower crash rate, there are a million autos on the road to only several hundred or thousand airplanes sorta puts the airlines on the endangered list doncha think? Don't pull the amount of passengers on board into the mix it will only confuse you
AL Jun 12th 2009 10:10PM
If I had to pay, I would. I don't have a healthy bladder to begin with. I'd be helping the airlines if I flew.
Tobyn Jun 12th 2009 10:33PM
Peeing isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. Not peeing can lead to kidney damage. If the airlines are going to charge people to pee, then they had better be prepared for the subsequent lawsuits from people who became ill from having to hold back because they didn't have enough change.
Kenny Kuhns Jun 15th 2009 12:00AM
This is just another way to rip off the consumer. They offer you drinks so of coarse you need to use the restroom. That is a set up. In France people are charged to use a public restroom with an attendant to make sure you take care of your business quickley and their alley ways reek of urine as a result. I won't pay to use a restroom. I feel it would set a precident and they would be nickel and diming us worse than ever. I think on my next flight I will wear an adult diaper rather than pee in the seat. I won't pay for toilet use, water or air and nither should anyone else because if we start doing in volintarily, soon we will have no other option.
confused Jun 12th 2009 10:42PM
I don't get it. People sleep 5 to 8 hours without having to go to the bathroom. People sit through movies, meetings, plays, any number of events less than 5 hours and manage to hold it. What is the fetish about having to go in an airplane anyhow? Go before boarding. And do you really need 4 beers or sodas or bottles of water in 3 hours...I don't think so bubba. Now small children and folks with innard troubles will just have to pony up some change...or get a medical waiver signed by a doctor stating the problem and the flight attendant can open the can for them.
Emory Jun 12th 2009 11:12PM
Well, maybe YOU can go 5 to 8 hours at night w/o getting up to wee-wee, and maybe YOU can sit through a 5 hour meeting w/o flinching (now that's a stretch) but other people either DO have to get up in the middle of the night, or know better than to 'hold it' during the day. Especially women are prone to bladder infections if they don't drink enough water, and regularly 'purge' throughout the day; and of course you have pregnant women, older folks, people with kidney disease/prostate problems. And let's not forget the unfortunate soul who just contracted Montezuma's revenge, and can't find the right change in time before disaster strikes. What a horrible rest-of-the-trip THAT would be for the rest of the passengers and crew!! You sound like a stout young man in the bloom of life, and you can 'hold it' indefinitely-- but believe me, thirty, fourty years down the road will be a very different experience.
"Oh, Ms Flight Attendant, old Mr Hodges just crapped in his pants again!..And this time he got it on the seat and the chair arms, too!!" EEEEwwwwwwwwww!!!