4th November 2008
Ryanair to charge for oxygen masks
How the new safety instructions will look |
Speaking as the airline's profits were shown to have fallen 47 percent, boss Michael O'Leary said that from January 2009, passengers travelling on UK or European routes with the Irish airline will have to pay €3/£2 for a 15-minute stream of oxygen, after which they will need to top up to maintain the airflow. Children's air will cost slightly less at €2/£1.50 for each 15 minutes.
Safety first (class only)
The famously parsimonious chairman defended the action, saying: "Although regular in-flight safety briefings mean that air passengers are familiar with the drill for securing oxygen masks (pull to activate the oxygen, put your own mask on first, then help children and others), it is extremely rare that they are actually needed."
According to the Civil Aviation Authority's 2007 Aviation Safety Trends report, there were 601,000 passenger flights to and from UK airports between April and July last year, and out of these, cabin decompression caused oxygen masks to deploy in only six.
Children second
Nevertheless, Ryanair's Peter Sherrard said that "pressurised oxygen is a significant fixed cost for the budget carrier at a time when fuel costs and family holiday cutbacks are denting profits".
"Making oxygen chargeable fits with the company's model of ancillary charges that actually bring ticket prices down," he added.
"If the aircraft does develop a fault in-flight and the cabin pressure drops, passengers can start the flow of oxygen by using the coin slot located above their seat next to the seatbelt sign and reading light."
Third runway
Consumer groups expressed concern that scrambling for coins in pockets and purses would simply heighten panic in an emergency, but Sherrard disagreed.
"Passengers who don't necessarily have cash to hand will be able to use credit or debit cards in the chip and pin readers we already use for in-flight products, such as blankets and water," he said. Maestro/Solo cards can be used for free but credit card payments incur a small charge.
Forth bridge
Mr Sherrard rejected criticism that the new measure left passengers without any alternatives, unlike Ryanair's check-in desk charge, which people can get around by checking in for flights online. If people don't feel comfortable with the pay-as-you-go oxygen, they can always "just try to ride it out," he stated.
A spokesman for the Air Transport Users Council (ATUC), the UK's consumer watchdog for the aviation industry, said Ryanair had a duty of care towards its customers and should put passenger safety above all else. The change could put lives in danger, he said.
However, Mr Sherrard called the ATUC comments a "sickening attack" that would restrict consumer choice, drive up air fares and even lead to job culls.
He added the chance of passengers suffocating in-flight was "practically nil", even without masks in place.
Safety first (class only)
The famously parsimonious chairman defended the action, saying: "Although regular in-flight safety briefings mean that air passengers are familiar with the drill for securing oxygen masks (pull to activate the oxygen, put your own mask on first, then help children and others), it is extremely rare that they are actually needed."
According to the Civil Aviation Authority's 2007 Aviation Safety Trends report, there were 601,000 passenger flights to and from UK airports between April and July last year, and out of these, cabin decompression caused oxygen masks to deploy in only six.
Children second
Nevertheless, Ryanair's Peter Sherrard said that "pressurised oxygen is a significant fixed cost for the budget carrier at a time when fuel costs and family holiday cutbacks are denting profits".
"Making oxygen chargeable fits with the company's model of ancillary charges that actually bring ticket prices down," he added.
"If the aircraft does develop a fault in-flight and the cabin pressure drops, passengers can start the flow of oxygen by using the coin slot located above their seat next to the seatbelt sign and reading light."
Third runway
Consumer groups expressed concern that scrambling for coins in pockets and purses would simply heighten panic in an emergency, but Sherrard disagreed.
"Passengers who don't necessarily have cash to hand will be able to use credit or debit cards in the chip and pin readers we already use for in-flight products, such as blankets and water," he said. Maestro/Solo cards can be used for free but credit card payments incur a small charge.
Forth bridge
Mr Sherrard rejected criticism that the new measure left passengers without any alternatives, unlike Ryanair's check-in desk charge, which people can get around by checking in for flights online. If people don't feel comfortable with the pay-as-you-go oxygen, they can always "just try to ride it out," he stated.
A spokesman for the Air Transport Users Council (ATUC), the UK's consumer watchdog for the aviation industry, said Ryanair had a duty of care towards its customers and should put passenger safety above all else. The change could put lives in danger, he said.
However, Mr Sherrard called the ATUC comments a "sickening attack" that would restrict consumer choice, drive up air fares and even lead to job culls.
He added the chance of passengers suffocating in-flight was "practically nil", even without masks in place.
