Revenue Will Be Recovered Through PayLavs

ANN April 1st Special Edition: In a move that shocked the airline industry Thursday, US Airways said it would stop charging for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on its domestic and international flights. A US Airways spokesperson said the lost revenue would be recouped through the airlines' new "PayLav" policy.

"People were bringing their own drinks onto the airplanes anyway, so the drink cart was declining as a revenue stream," the spokesperson said. "Even at airport terminal prices, they could buy a bottle of water cheaper before they left than they could on the plane."

Flight attendants had also complained about the unwieldy credit card swipes for passengers to pay for their drinks. A union spokesman said they were "relieved" to not have to worry about getting cards back to the right passengers before the plane began its initial descent.

To replace the lost revenue, US Airways will install "PayLavs" on all of its airplanes. "The system will work either with cash, credit, or debit cards," said PayLav spokesman Goethe Gogh. "That way, if the machine won't take the crumpled dollar bill that's been in their pocket for two weeks, they can simply swipe a card and gain access to relief."

Kate Hanni, founder of fliersrights.org, blasted the move as an airline capitalizing on a basic human necessity. "What happens when they're stuck on the tarmac for three hours?" Hanni said at a news conference. "I can't imagine someone wanting to pay to use a lavatory that's clean, let alone one that's all backed up from a lengthy tarmac delay."

Other airlines are watching the experiment closely to gauge customer reaction. Southwest is considering using the card-swipe technology on the overhead bins. "Bags still fly free," said a spokesman, "but we don't store them for free, unless they're under the seat in front of you."

FMI: www.paylavs.net