Ryanair is Europe’s largest low cost carrier. The airline is currently only operating a skeleton schedule of about 30 daily flights between Ireland, the UK, and Europe.
Details have just been revealed about how Ryanair service will be ramped up, including an interesting policy on bathroom usage, which will probably make many of us feel like we’re back in school.
In this post:
Ryanair will resume 40% of flights in July 2020
Ryanair intends to resume roughly 40% of the usual flight schedule as of July 1, 2020, subject to government restrictions on intra-EU flights being lifted, and effective public health measures being put in place at airports.
This means that Ryanair will operate nearly 1,000 daily flights, while restoring almost 90% of routes (though with reduced frequencies).
Ryanair’s COVID-19 safety precautions
Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary has been an outspoken critic of blocking middle seats, going so far as to say that Ryanair wouldn’t resume flying if such a requirement were in place.
Ryanair 737
Nonetheless the airline is taking quite some steps to keep passengers as safe as possible, and has outlined some of those policies:
- Ryanair is encouraging people to check in online and use the self bag drop feature
- Ryanair passengers and crews will be required to wear face masks
- Inflight service will be limited to pre-packaged snacks and drinks, and cash won’t be accepted, to minimize contact
- Queuing for toilets will be prohibited, though will be made available to individual passengers upon request
Here’s a video Ryanair put together about their new policies:
Ryanair’s bathroom policy
Funny enough, about a decade ago Ryanair floated the idea of charging to use lavatories. The airline had considered this at the time because they wanted to reduce the number of lavatories on planes and add more seats, and they figured people would be less likely to use lavatories if they had to pay to use them.
Now Ryanair is becoming the first airline I know of to add restrictions on bathroom use, though for legitimate reasons. I’m really curious to see how this will work in practice.
I totally see the logic of wanting to limit the number of people queuing in the aisles, but what’s the plan here? Will this be like school, where you have to ask a teacher permission to go to the bathroom?
That’s the only logical process I can think of, so I guess we’ll see if that’s how it actually works.
Ryanair will limit passenger bathroom usage
Bottom line
Ryanair plans on resuming 40% of flights as of July 2020, which is significant. While Ryanair won’t be blocking middle seats, the airline is taking all kinds of other initiatives to keep passengers as safe as possible.
The most interesting initiative no doubt is that they’ll be controlling passenger bathroom usage. There’e merit to limiting the queuing in the aisle, though I’m curious how this will actually work…
Frankly I would have bene disappointed if Ryanair weren’t the first airline to add restrictions on bathroom usage. 😉
(Tip of the hat to Paddle Your Own Kanoo)
I was last week on a Ryanair flight from London to Krakow and they called out on the PA after take-off that you should use the calling button to use the bathroom, and the seatbelt sign was on the whole flight.
But they didn't really enforce it and in theory you could go to toilet without any problems, just when to many people were standing they said over and over again that you need to...
I was last week on a Ryanair flight from London to Krakow and they called out on the PA after take-off that you should use the calling button to use the bathroom, and the seatbelt sign was on the whole flight.
But they didn't really enforce it and in theory you could go to toilet without any problems, just when to many people were standing they said over and over again that you need to sit down.
But it could be that it was just because it was quite an empty flight and on a full flight they would've enforced it.
With the demise of alcoholic be verage service in-flight, here’s what you do if you have to be on an overnight flight:
Before going to the airport, buy a few (3-6) miniature bottles of vodka and put them in a quart-size sealable plastic bag; those will go through security without any problem. Also bring an EMPTY quart water bottle, such as Dasani. When you get to your gate and you’re waiting for your plane, pour...
With the demise of alcoholic be verage service in-flight, here’s what you do if you have to be on an overnight flight:
Before going to the airport, buy a few (3-6) miniature bottles of vodka and put them in a quart-size sealable plastic bag; those will go through security without any problem. Also bring an EMPTY quart water bottle, such as Dasani. When you get to your gate and you’re waiting for your plane, pour your vodka into the water bottle, then top if off with water from a water dispenser in the terminal. Then you can bring your own “water” aboard the plane.
Before long, if you are mad enough to book a Ryanair flight there will be an option to book a toilet slot when you book your ticket. Booking then will cost you £9.99.
If you wait until you are at the airport you can still book a slot at check in for £29.99.
On board, should you need to go it will be £49.99.
Access to the toilet will be for named passengers only and the slot will not be transferable.
Peanuts: $3.50 / Soft drink: $6.00 / self-catheterization kit and urine bag: $21.45.
Only one word for anyone flying Ryanair: Depend
I can say one word.
CRAZY........
Next step no drinking allowed so toilets can be removed. Will be a real cattle flight. Never used Ryanair and never will…..
It's not a bathroom, it doesn't have a bath (tub) in it. It is a toilet or a lavatory.
The plan is to encourage people to use toilets at the terminals before boarding to have a comfortable (whatever it means at this airline) flight. In addition, it reduces take off weight by around 30kg (0,2kg/Passenger x 150 Passengers). As MOL knows to calculate, he just was waiting to install this procedure without a shitstorm, wasn't he?
"Bottom line" is a header for toilet talk.
Ryanair might put a credit card reader in the toilet door. Toilet paper would be an upcharge.
There are pay toilets in Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Mexico and other countries.
Are credit cards really safer than cash in terms of sanity and minimizing contact?
Hope Michael Ryan's bladder explodes!!!
@ Creditcrunch: you beat me to the idea. Of course, Ryanair being Ryanair, this is how it's going to be like.
But let's add the top option:
Toilet Royale (without cheese) : The in-flight convenience will be cleaned before your visit, and you will be handed our exclusively perfumed Ryanair towelette upon leaving. Special introductory price,
£ 14.99.
When I fly, this is always my #1 concern.
Airlines have steadily reduced the number of toilets in business class. United has 4 for 50 people in business class. On a flight from Cape Town to new york for 15 hours they were virtually in use all the time.
A lot of people are selfish and spend way too much time. You should have to use a credit card to gain access and the first 7 minutes should be free. The majority of responsible and public spirited peiple will not have to pay.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see an add on when booking;
Speedy Toilet - priority use of toilets throughout your journey £9.99 ( unlimited visits)
Toilet Delight - upto 2 toilet visits while in the air or ground. £7.99
Toilet Classic - upto 2 toilet visits while in the air. £5.99
Free toilet - just press the call bell and our friendly flight attendant will issue you a numbered ticket, you will be called...
Wouldn’t be surprised to see an add on when booking;
Speedy Toilet - priority use of toilets throughout your journey £9.99 ( unlimited visits)
Toilet Delight - upto 2 toilet visits while in the air or ground. £7.99
Toilet Classic - upto 2 toilet visits while in the air. £5.99
Free toilet - just press the call bell and our friendly flight attendant will issue you a numbered ticket, you will be called in order of numbers issued. **Ryanair accept no responsibility for denial of service due to time restrictions**
Perhaps Ryan Air will go under and we won’t have to deal with this joke of an airline. They make Spirit look good.
I remember being in 3rd grade and a girl asked the teacher to go to the restroom and the teacher said no, wait until break time. 5 minutes later the girl was crying and a puddle was on the floor and in her seat with soaked clothes. Now, add a customer with a few too many beers before flight, a flight attendant with a power trip controlling bathroom usage and before long we'll have a...
I remember being in 3rd grade and a girl asked the teacher to go to the restroom and the teacher said no, wait until break time. 5 minutes later the girl was crying and a puddle was on the floor and in her seat with soaked clothes. Now, add a customer with a few too many beers before flight, a flight attendant with a power trip controlling bathroom usage and before long we'll have a headline story asking if the passenger was in his right to relieve himself at his seat after being denied usage.
Just a race to the bottom with this airline. I don't think having a rule against queuing for the lavatory is a big deal. I'm sure the people with seats near the lavatory would appreciate not having a line of people breathing on them the entire flight. Don't these planes have occupied/unoccupied signs for the lavatory? Then again it is Ryanair.
@Eskimo
I know in China, 14 day quarantine was at your own expense at government designated hotels (with varying price ranges depending on quality, e.g. 3*,4*,5*)
Your request may be denied and you will be charged a cleaning fee for seat,floor or damage caused by odors from bodily waste
You will have up to 3 minutes to perform your functions or be subject to penalty or removal from the loo clothed or unclothed.
This is just bad news for the travel business. Anyone who doesn't absolutely have to fly will avoid going on an airplane for as long as they are treated with less respect than the baggage in the hold
You miss the point Lucky! The "ask for permission to use the lavatory" measure - a bizarre measure which comes straight out of kindergarten - was surely coined up by Ryanair's genius marketing team. Look at the news, it has hit the headlines everywhere!
Think of it. There will be queues in the plane during boarding and disembarkation. So why not at the lavatories? This is something thought of by health and safety experts...
You miss the point Lucky! The "ask for permission to use the lavatory" measure - a bizarre measure which comes straight out of kindergarten - was surely coined up by Ryanair's genius marketing team. Look at the news, it has hit the headlines everywhere!
Think of it. There will be queues in the plane during boarding and disembarkation. So why not at the lavatories? This is something thought of by health and safety experts - but rather by their marketing team.
Reminds you of something? Yeap, Ryanair previously hit the news with the "we will charge for toilet usage" idea of Michael O'Leary, which he damn well knew that it would never be accepted by regulators.
So why say such a thing? It's free press! And for a no-frills airline like Ryanair, there is no bad press! The "charge for toilet use" line had the result that people start to check how cheap those Ryanair flights then must be.
This new bit of toilet news is only meant to get some free press coverage that Ryanair will resume flights this summer, with Ryanair marketing gurus of course hoping it will result in a surge of flight bookings.
@Creditcrunch
I always wonder who pays for these 'State will put you up' quarantine. I don't mind adding 14 days to my London trip if Boris Johnson will pay the bill for a foreigner. It is still better than spending money on security for Meghan Markle.
Singapore Airlines: Observe safe-distancing measures when embarking and disembarking from a flight, as well as when queueing for the lavatory.
https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/media-centre/news-alert/?id=k94jio5l
And yet yesterday the UK PM has given notice to international arrivals that they will need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, if the customer can’t provide an address where they plan to isolate then the State will put you up. So I think Ryanair is premature in announcing even a 40% resumption of service as more countries around the EU implement similar regulations for international arrivals, infact Spain has just announced the same restriction.
What would be interesting here is if Ryanair actually keep statistics of lavatory usage.
This is a legitimate first step to pave way to actually charging to use the lavatory.
Depressing.
These protocols have been adopted elsewhere in the world already (Thailand, Ghana, etc..) and form part of IATA/ICAO's comprehensive overall recommendations for post-COVID safe operations.
The point is not to restrict bathroom usage, but to ensure that there is minimal crowding in the aisles near the bathrooms and galley areas. No different than the protocols used for "security" on US carriers where passengers were not permitted to line up to use the forward lavatory.
These protocols have been adopted elsewhere in the world already (Thailand, Ghana, etc..) and form part of IATA/ICAO's comprehensive overall recommendations for post-COVID safe operations.
The point is not to restrict bathroom usage, but to ensure that there is minimal crowding in the aisles near the bathrooms and galley areas. No different than the protocols used for "security" on US carriers where passengers were not permitted to line up to use the forward lavatory.
I guess it is gonna be similar to the system used by Emirates to reserve Shower-Spa slots to First Class customers. But then the A380 First Class is for like just 12 people and considering a loaded 737-800, with all the social distancing measures, having 100pax. I would find it hard reserving lavatory-slots for atleast 50 people on a 1 hour 15 minute flight. I guess they will prioritize washroom-slots for Seniors, Kiddies and pregnant...
I guess it is gonna be similar to the system used by Emirates to reserve Shower-Spa slots to First Class customers. But then the A380 First Class is for like just 12 people and considering a loaded 737-800, with all the social distancing measures, having 100pax. I would find it hard reserving lavatory-slots for atleast 50 people on a 1 hour 15 minute flight. I guess they will prioritize washroom-slots for Seniors, Kiddies and pregnant women.
@Santastico - lol, that's gonna be weird. *over the PA*, Mr.Tim of Seat 12A, you may head to the washroom now.
So do they plan to give out numbers to passengers that need to go to the bathroom and call the numbers when it is your time to go? Similar to grocery stores when you need something from the deli.
More Gérard Depardieu style incidents so.....
I flew Ryanair once (it was to a destination to which no one else flew). My flights weren’t all that cheap, and the flight wasn’t all that bad, but they did seem to take every opportunity to remind you that it was a budget flight, particularly the way they used various holding pens. Almost a kind of reverse snobbism, so even if you didn’t get a great deal, you feel like you must have.
As Ryanair runs the bare minimum number of FA needed. I see this problem creating issues.
They don't really have spare staff to have someone sit by the bathroom and maintain a list if needed. This comes from the idea that there would be more or less content demand for lavatories.
The idea isn't bad but Ryanair is in no position to effectively put this policy in practice as they don't have spare crew on flight. This isn't Emirates with shower attendants.