Oxygen Is A 'Premium Service' According To The Airline

ANN April 1 Special Edition

Ryanair announced April 1 that it would be placing coin slots on the oxygen mask deployment systems in the cabins of its airplanes.

The move was called a charge for a premium service for which customers should decide if they want to pay.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," said Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. "After all, a decompression emergency is such a rare occurrence, and you only actually need the supplemental oxygen for a few minutes while the airplane descends to an altitude where the air is breathable again."

The slots will initially be configured only to take Euros, though O'Leary said that new machines in development will accept a wide variety of currencies, including U.S. coins, and all major credit and debit cards.

"We're not going to make this burdensome," O'Leary said, "maybe fifty cents or a dollar when it comes to the U.S. market. But all that safety equipment costs money, and we need a way to offset those costs in order to keep our base fares low."

Airlines for America (A4A) issued a statement criticizing the move, and urging U.S. airlines not to follow suit. "This is one of the basics," said A4A president and CEO Nicholas Callio.

"Breathing when the cabin decompresses should not be considered optional. We will work with the European Parliament and EASA to be sure this latest revenue-enhancing scheme is squashed before it can become reality."

FMI: www.ryanair.com