A Tale of Two Airlines

Hit with higher operating costs and fewer passengers, airlines continue to look for ways to trim costs.  But how far is too far? Airlines have already eliminated food on most flights, started charging extra for checked baggage and on Friday, chief executive Michael O’Leary of Irish carrier Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline, said in an interview with BBC that they are considering charging passengers for using the toilet on their flights. This on top of an announcement last week that they intend to shut all check-in desks at airports by the end of the year, with all passengers having to check in online instead. 

It’s unclear when or if a “pay to go” policy will be implemented but if it is, customers of the Irish no-frills carrier might have to fork out £1 (approximately $1.42) to “spend a penny” on flights, Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said. “We are always looking at ways of making air travel cheaper. We are all about finding ways of raising revenue so we can keep lowering air fares.” Asked what would happen if a passenger didn’t have funds for the use of the lavatory O’Learly simply replied “I don’t think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound.”

While some airlines continue looking for ways to drive revenue at the cost of their passenger’s experience, others are looking for ways to regain passenger confidence and loyalty. In an effort to improve their passenger’s experience, United Airlines has embarked on an effort to improve the cleanliness of their planes. Prior to starting this program, it wasn’t unusual for United’s planes to go 6 or even 18 months between “heavy” cleaning.  Heavy cleaning includes scrubbing of the passenger cabin top to bottom, cleaning every surface, carpet shampooing and seat cushions removed and searched for stains.

Now smaller jets flying within the United States are thoroughly cleaned every 30 days and wide-body aircraft used for international flights are thoroughly cleaned every 15 days.  United says its internal survey data shows that passenger ratings of cabin cleanliness have increased six fold since September.

It’s clear from the examples above that the airline industry remains unsettled as it struggles to strike a balance between revenue and customer experience.