RYANAIR is Europe’s largest airline and has a history of announcing some of the most outlandish plans for its passengers and planes.
The airline’s boss Michael O’Leary recently floated the idea of offering package holidays in the future but has often failed to follow through with many of the wild ideas he puts forward.
Ryanair first mentioned offering package holidays in 2016, but has since failed to deliver them.
The low-cost carrier has had countless other whacky ideas in its near 40 year history that failed to occur.
For example, in 2007 the airline claimed it would be running flights across the Atlantic for just £6.
Almost 20 years later, there is still no sign of a transatlantic route for the Irish airline.
O’Leary grabbed headlines again in 2009 when he told the BBC that he was considering fitting the airline’s toilet doors with coin-slots so that passengers would have to pay £1 to use them.
Thankfully, he later admitted that the idea was unfeasible and would have gone against EU regulations.
A similar cost cutting move floated by the CEO was to remove two of the three toilets found on his aircraft in order to make room for more seats.
When he suggested this he claimed it would save passengers a ‘jaw-dropping’ £2 on the average ticket.
Given its measly saving, it’s no surprise the idea was never put into practice.
Standing cabins are also an idea that O’Leary has enjoyed pitching to the world now and again.
The Irishman had previously described planes as just “buses with wings” that could safely carry passengers.
But in 2012, the airline said an an unnamed regulator had thwarted its plan to sell the standing-only tickets, by refusing an application for test flights.
Cutting the cockpit crew in half is one of the more ridiculous ideas ever propositioned by the CEO.
“Why does every plane have two pilots?” asked Michael O’Leary back in 2010.
“Let’s take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it,” he told Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
He had also suggested training a member of the cabin crew to take over in the event that the sole pilot had a medical emergency.
Ryanair also once dabbled with premium tickets when it launched its potentially misleading business class product in the summer of 2014.
The airline’s ‘Business Plus’ tickets offered a bigger bag allowance, queue jumping and ‘premium’ seating.
We've rounded up how much hand luggage you can take on UK airlines when booking their most basic fare.
Ryanair
One personal bag measuring no more than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
EasyJet
One personal bag measuring no larger than 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Jet2
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm weighing up to 10kg
TUI
One personal item that its underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm weighing up to 10kg
British Airways
One personal bag no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm 25cm weighing up to 23kg
Virgin Atlantic
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm weighing up to 10kg
However, there was no lounge access, any free hospitality, or a separate cabin for your ‘premium’ seat (a seat located near the front or rear door of the aircraft, or an exit row seat with more legroom.)
Given this, the word ‘Business’ was later dropped from the name but the product still exists in an add-on form for passengers to purchase.
Fifteen year ago, Ryanair shockingly declared it would introduce a ‘fat tax’ for overweight flyers.
A spokesman for the airline had said: “A ‘fat tax’ will only apply to those really large passengers who invade the space of the passengers sitting beside them.
“These charges, if introduced, might also act as an incentive to some of our very large passengers to lose a little weight and hopefully feel a little lighter and healthier.”
At the time, O’Leary suggested that he was merely listening to feedback from his passengers.
Some of these passengers may have also requested another kooky idea, to have adult entertainment accessible on their devices.
In November 2011, O’Leary said that the airline was working on an in-flight app which would offer paid-for content, including pornography and online gambling.
He told The Sun: “It would be on handheld devices. Hotels around the world have it, so why wouldn’t we?”
It comes as no surprise that this never ended up happening but it is bizarre to imagine how flying would be if the CEO had followed through with the plans.
Finally, the airline also once had plans to scrap one of the few comforts of flying still left, seat armrests.
Originally floated in 2012, the ridiculous idea showed just how far Ryanair was willing to go to save money by reducing aircraft weight.
According to other comments made at the time, other fuel-saving tricks included reducing the amount of ice taken on board, slimming down the size of the Ryanair magazine, and using lighter trolleys for the bar service.
