Ryanair is once again considering charging for its on-board toilets, The Irish Times reports, despite admitting last year that the surcharge was a publicity stunt.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary came clean last year when he confessed that the toilet fee “is not likely to happen, but it makes for interesting and very cheap PR”.

But that assessment now appears to have been revoked by spokesman Stephen McNamara, who revealed in Ryanair’s in-flight magazine that the issue is being revisited.

Mr McNamara said the £1/€1 charge would only apply to flights of an hour or less, including almost all of the carrier’s popular routes between the UK mainland and Ireland.

Talks are reportedly underway between Ryanair and Boeing about the possibility of refitting 50 of its 737 aircraft, replacing the existing three toilets with a single coin-operated loo.

“One toilet will discourage overdependence.” Mr McNamara said. “There is nothing in the rule book to say that an aircraft has to have any toilets at all, which might sound strange, but we believe three toilets are excessive.”

Despite the airline’s renewed enthusiasm, however, many observers remain sceptical.

Though removing toilets would allow Ryanair to add extra seats, any such changes would first be subject to extensive re-certification work which could cost up to £400,000 per plane.

The move would also make it significantly more difficult for Ryanair to sell its old fleet.

Nonetheless, Mr McNamara insists the infamous ‘pee fee’ is now firmly back on the airline’s agenda. He explained: “The funny thing about Michael is that he’ll say these things as an off-the-cuff remark, and then he’ll start to think about it more and more, and he’ll start doing the sums.”

© Cheapflights Ltd (Creative Commons image: Andy Mitchell / Flickr)

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