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Would you pay for an empty bladder?

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) on Jun 10th 2009 at 12:00PM

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.

Would you pay to pee?
Yes, airlines need the cash	79 (3.1%)
Yes, but only if the flight's dirt cheap	278 (11.0%)
Only if the airline comps me tons of liquor	208 (8.2%)
Never!	1969 (77.7%)