Cut-Rate Airlines Will Gouge You For Your Own Good

Low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines will start charging $45 for each piece of luggage passengers bring on the plane with them. The airline bills it as a way to “reduce the number of carry-on bags, which will improve inflight safety and efficiency by speeding up the boarding and deplaning process, all of which ultimately improve the overall customer experience.” Meanwhile, budget Irish airline Ryanair is replacing all the toilets in its fleet with coin-operated models that will cost about a buck and half to use. Ryanair hopes that the move will “change passenger behaviour so that they use the bathroom before or after the flight. That will enable us to remove two out of three of the toilets and make way for at least six extra seats.” The joys of air travel! Thank God we’re all too poor to afford to fly anywhere.