Thursday 30 April 2009

No Ryanair 'fat tax' if it delays flights

Ryanair will only impose a "fat tax" on overweight passengers if it does not lead to flight delays, the chief executive of the Irish budget airline said Thursday.
"We are not going to introduce a fat tax unless it is easy to administer. If it is going to slow down either our check-in or our turnaround time then we won't do it," Micheal O'Leary told a news conference.
Last week the airline announced it was considering a "fat tax" after 29 percent of the more than 100,000 people who responded to an online poll on cost-reduction measures voted in favour of the measure.
Twenty-five percent of respondents voted to charge travelers one euro to use toilet paper adorned with a picture of O?Leary?s face and 24 percent voted to charge passengers three euros to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle.
Ryanair, which already charges separately for services like food onboard, launched the online poll after O'Leary caused a storm earlier this year by suggesting passengers could be charged to use toilets on planes.
It is now asking travellers online how any "fax tax" could be levied. The four options include charging male passengers who weigh over 130 kilogrammes (287 pounds) or females over 100kg for every extra kilogramme they carry.
Another alternative is charging for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests simultaneously.
The proposed measure sparked a fresh controversy with some suggesting it would be discriminatory and illegal if it is adopted, a charge O'Leary rejected.
"It is not against the law, we can make it a safety issue," he said.

AFP

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