Fresh on the heels of one budget airline announcing that it will ask passengers to pay extra to bring carry-on bags on board, another is considering charging them for using the lavatory.
Ryanair, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and bills itself as "Europe's first and largest low fares airline," is mulling a plan that would require travelers to pay either 1 euro or 1 British pound (about $1.33 or $1.52) for using the bathroom on flights lasting one hour or less. I suppose cost-conscious passengers could get the most for their Euro by inviting another passenger to accompany them to the lavatory.
The plan, titled "Ryanair Cost Saving Proposal," was published in the airline's inflight magazine. "Wow! I can't believe I'm sitting next to Cindy Crawford! My name's gorb. Pleased to meet you!"
"Hi, gorb. I'm having a bad day. I seem to have lost my wallet."
"Hmm. Ever flown Ryanair before, Cindy?"
"Nope, first time."
"Let me buy you a couple of beers then."
The carrier said it is working with Boeing to develop a coin-operated door release so that when nature calls, passengers would need to deposit the change before being able to use the facilities. "Sorry, Cindy, I've only got one Euro and I've gotta go, too!"
"Whatever shall we do, gorb?"
"I thought you'd never ask . . . ."
The idea is to encourage people to use restrooms in airport terminals before boarding, Ryanair said. If the airline were to proceed, the changes would be at least 12 to 18 months away. Not to fear. By then the Euro should be about $0.91 to $1.04.
As part of the plan, the airline is also considering removing two of the three lavatories on some of its planes so it could squeeze in up to six extra seats. The move would help reduce fares by at least 5 percent, Ryanair said. One lavatory? This will not end well. Especially when two passengers get food poisoning from blue eggs.
It's not the first time the airline has broached the subject of a toilet fee. CEO Michael O'Leary told the BBC in February 2009 that he was considering the charge.
How would it fly with passengers? One hint of how Americans might feel about it may come from an informal poll posted on TripAdvisor.com last summer in which one-fifth of the respondents said they would fly on an airline that charged a fee to access the bathroom; 78 percent said they would not. About 5,300 people answered the online survey question. But the idea may be less shocking to travelers in Europe, where it's not unusual to pay a small fee to use a public restroom.
Meanwhile, Ryanair announced Tuesday that it's raising its checked luggage fee from 15 euros to 20 euros per bag for the peak vacation months of July and August.
"Ryanair is determined to incentivise passengers to travel light this summer," spokesman Stephen McNamara said in a statement. The airline urged its passengers to avoid the fees by bringing carry-on bags only.
Ryanair is already well-known for its fees and is up-front about them on its Web site, which details charges for everything from online check-in to traveling with infants. Customers haven't balked; in fact, Ryanair's passenger traffic grew 13 percent last month compared to the same time last year, the airline reported.
Low-cost carriers have embraced the concept of a la carte pricing, or keeping base fares at rock bottom levels while charging passengers for any extra services.
On Tuesday, Florida-based Spirit Airlines announced that it will charge its customers $20 to $45 for items they place in the overhead bins. "Ha, Mohammed! We've made it onto the airplane with the bomb in your backpack. Blow it up now!"
"Err, sorry Mohammad. They wanted too much to bring it on. I ditched it in the trash can at the ticket counter."
"Well, how about your shoe bomb then?"
"Sorry, they were charging for shoes, too."
"Idiot! What are we supposed to do now?"
"I've got this copy of Playboy that they only wanted $5 for me to bring onto the plane."
"Great! Give it to me! I'm just going to head to the lavatory and, err, read some of the articles."
"But Mohammad, I just spent our last Euro to get this here blanket. Besides, you can't read english."
"We are in hell, Mohammed."
"Can't be. We're suicide bombers."
"Give me that blanket then, too. You can have it back when I'm done with it."
Please don't, Phiter Stalin5608. I'm a bit unobservant, and might put my foot in it. Seriously, the nice thing about capitalistic societies is that one can choose to pay less, and remember to fill one's pockets with small change, or pay more to have a more luxurious experience. There's always Virgin Airlines or British Air, after all.
#3
Umm, how much to bring on board an empty soda bottle?
Posted by: ed ||
04/09/2010 8:03 Comments ||
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#4
This has come up before. Ryanair makes a viral announcement they will charge for the life rafts or to breath oxygen, they get loads of press, then they come out denying they will do that and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. And books more flights on Ryanair. Airlines need to simply weigh each passenger and charge by the pound - after all, pax are only self-loading cargo!!!
Posted by: Kelly ||
04/09/2010 12:11 Comments ||
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#12
So, can you prepay the amount? Get a free token with purchase of ten, or buy a season pass? How about a special "frequent sh!tters" restroom for elite mileage customers?
Or should we all give up and just wear Depends when traveling?
#14
Sporty's Pilot Shop sells a device that is basically a ziploc baggie with a flat sponge; when it gets wet, it expands. Available for both men and women.
#15
Sporty's Pilot Shop sells a device that is basically a ziploc baggie with a flat sponge; when it gets wet, it expands. Available for both men and women
Yep, imagine explaining that after going through the new "scan everything" security.
A BROODY Victoria Beckham is leaving her injured husband "exhausted" by demanding sex five times a day, The Sun newspaper in the UK reports. .
Posh, who longs for a daughter, has set up a baby chart showing the best times to conceive.
Mrs. Beckham needs to do a bit more research. Men have the most sperm per ejaculation when they copulate once every two days. She's put the poor man into the position of shooting blanks, not to mention he must be rubbed raw by now.
The 35-year-old former Posh Spice and Queen WAG kicked off the plan during the family's Easter break in the Caribbean that left injured English soccer idol Becks flat on his back. Golden Balls, 34, has told friends he is struggling to keep up with his rampant missus as he limps around with strapping on his Achilles tendon.
He is now recovering in Los Angeles while Victoria is on a business trip in London. And he is bracing himself for their reunion on Monday when the relentless regime starts again.
The couple have three sons - Brooklyn, aged 11; Romeo, 7; and Cruz 5.
"David's knackered and was relieved to get a break," a source told The Sun. "He's not complaining. But with all the strapping on his foot just getting about is hard enough, let alone bedroom gymnastics five times a day.
"Vic is desperate to get pregnant and has a timetable for sex."
"From what David's said it basically means he must produce the goods whenever it's possible and be on continuous standby."
#1
"Vic is desperate to get pregnant and has a timetable for sex."
I can imagine David Beckham saying: " Vic, where are those little blue pills? Can you take three at a time?At the same time thinking to himself:[ I can't work under these inhumane working conditions. I can't just have sex on demand. What does she think I am--a stud horse to be used and put out to pasture? I feel so used. I think I'm getting a headache.]"
[Al Arabiya Latest] United States President Barack Obama and Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev signed a landmark treaty Thursday committing their nations to major nuclear arms cuts.
Under the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the former Cold War foes will be allowed a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads, about 30 percent lower than a limit set in 2002.
It also imposes limits on the air and submarine-borne intercontinental ballistic missiles that carry warheads.
Agreed after months of hard bargaining, the two presidents signed the treaty in the renaissance Spanish Hall of Prague Castle.
Medvedev and Obama sat side by side to sign the successor to the 1991 START treaty which was also a major step in efforts to ease the often strained relations between their countries.
Obama called it "an extraordinary event" and an "important milestone" for attempts to restrict nuclear arms as well as for U.S.-Russia relations.
He called the treaty "one step on a longer journey" which would lead to further cuts in the universal arsenal.
Obama said the two nations, which between them have more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear arms, had to show "responsible global leadership."
Medvedev said the treaty "enables us to rise to a higher level of cooperation between Russia and the United States" while also declaring that the negotiations "have not been simple".
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Bambi can have his photo-op, but until it is ratified by the Senate, it is only a fill in for Charmin.
#3
THE INK IS NOT EVEN DRY > RUSSIA = VLADVEDEV is already crticizing this new signatory as being harmed/jeopardized by US desires to proceed wid deployment of GMD-TMD in East Europe + Strike NON-NPT Compliant Worl d States with BMS equipped wid conventional warheads???
A young Sydney mother has died after her hijab became tangled in a go-kart in an accident on the NSW central coast. The woman suffered severe neck and throat injuries after the hijab - a Muslim scarf that covers a woman's head and neck - became entangled with the go-kart while she was driving at Port Stephens Go-Karts yesterday.
Paramedics tried to save the 26-year-old, but she was pronounced dead shortly after she was flown to John Hunter Hospital by a Westpac rescue helicopter.
Detective Inspector Peter Fox of Port Stephens Local Area Command said today the longer part of the scarf was wedged down near one of the go-kart's wheel axles. "[It appears] the scarf was pulled across her throat ... from one side of the body to the other side," he said.
Paramedics were called to the track on the corner of Marsh Road and Nelson Bay Road in Bobs Farm about 2pm after reports a woman had been strangled by an item of clothing. Crews worked to stabilise her while the rescue helicopter flew to the site. She was flown to hospital but died a short time later.
It is believed the woman's husband and children, who were on holiday in the Nelson Bay area, were at the track at the time, but it is unclear whether they were driving go-karts at the time.
Sharon and Scott Taylor, of Coal Point, were at the track with their young family waiting to use the karts when the accident happened. Mrs Taylor said there were only two karts on the track at the time. "The kart hit the wall and stopped and she was just slumped over," she said.
Mr Taylor said the severity of the woman's injuries was obvious as soon as paramedics began to treat her. "Her clothing had wrapped around her neck," he said. He said he did not hold much hope of the woman surviving when he saw how badly her neck and throat had been injured.
Detective Inspector Fox said police removed the go-kart from the site and were examining it mechanically and forensically. Police were also speaking to the track's operators and the woman's family.
#2
police removed the go-kart from the site and were examining it mechanically and forensically
Looking for signs of satanic possession or a malign djinn? Operating machinery while wearing loose, floppy clothing is dangerously stupid. I'm surprised the kart track let her do it.
Posted by: ed ||
04/09/2010 9:39 Comments ||
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#4
this is divine justice for as the late Ayatollah Khomeini said,
"Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious. Islam does not allow swimming in the sea and is opposed to radio and television serials. Islam, however, allows marksmanship, horseback riding and competition."
see note 73 on the wikipedia article on Khomeini
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/09/2010 9:59 Comments ||
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#5
Not to sound too insensitive but....if the husband had a knife with him, would he have cut her free and saved her life? To do so might have caused some of her skin to be exposed in public...makes me think of the time the Islamists sent the girls back into the burning building to get their burkas on lest they be seen outside in an immodest state.
#12
Its a sad day when common sense is overridden by reality.
I am a family man, and I feel for the family, I really do. Some people have seen where flesh meets physics and it must have been graphic and ignorant in hindsight. But ed at #3 has it exactly right - behold action and consequence!
#18
at 14 yrs old did a neck chock at -20F on my go-cart with the long stocking caps popular about 1969.
Got lucky when it jammed the cyntrypical clutch.
learned the lose clothes lesson.
#2
The joint rescue between the IMF and the EU would turn the Bundesbank into a "money-printing machine" for the purchase of Greek bonds, according to Rundschau.
#3
Maybe not. You have to consider that the USD is the world reserve currency.
Would you switch to the euro is it bails greece out? Of course not, because you have ireland and spain who will want their handouts, that means a more euros and a weaker currency.
The Euro was the only serious contender, so this is very dollar positive.
#4
flash91, the USA is already printing money to buy its own debt. The last figures I saw, as much as 80% of the debt issued by the USA was being bought by the Fed using newly issued money.
Hyper-inflation will be a worldwide problem, because even the likes of Germany has little prospect of paying off its debts as economies contract due to governments trying to reign in out of control debts.
WASHINGTON Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill. During an election season. This should be fun.
Stevens says he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. His announcement Friday in Washington had been hinted at for months. It comes 11 days before his 90th birthday.
Stevens began signaling a possible retirement last summer when he hired just one of his usual complement of four law clerks for the next court term. He acknowledged in several interviews that he was contemplating stepping down and would certainly do so during Obama's presidency.
The timing of his announcement leaves ample time for the White House to settle on a successor and Senate Democrats, who control 59 votes, to conduct confirmation hearings and a vote. Republicans have not ruled out an attempt to delay confirmation. Ya think?
The leading candidates to replace Stevens are Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and federal appellate Judges Merrick Garland, 57, and Diane Wood, 59.
Stevens' departure will not change the court's conservative-liberal split because Obama is certain to name a liberal-leaning replacement. But the new justice is not likely to be able to match Stevens' ability to marshal narrow majorities in big cases.
Stevens was able to draw the support of the court's swing votes, now-retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy, to rein in or block some Bush administration policies, including the detention of suspected terrorists following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, its tilt toward protecting businesses from some lawsuits and its refusal to act against global warming.
Though Senator Raza Rabbani-led Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR) has removed the name of ex-dictator Ziaul Haq from the constitution, the 'Islamic provisions' introduced by him have not been touched.
A reading of the draft of the constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 clarifies that the Islamic identity of the constitution would remain unchanged as all the Islamic provisions would remain intact.
The committee, which was represented by all the political parties in the Parliament, did not find anything wrong with any Islamic provision in the constitution, which was made part of the constitution through the 8th constitutional amendment.
The much talked about article 62-f of the constitution, which remained under criticism after NRO decision has also not been changed but a sentence has been added saying: 'there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law'. After the proposed amendment Article 62-f reads: 'He is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest, and Ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law'.
However, a slight change has been proposed in the Objectives Resolution where the minorities have been given right to freely profess and practice their religions.
Article 20 of the Constitution, which talks of freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions, also says that every citizen shall have the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion; and every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institution.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Put a drop of sewage in a barrel of wine, and you get... Sewage!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/09/2010 0:14 Comments ||
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#2
I thought the 18th Amendment was always pro-Islamic. It banned alcohol sales.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
04/09/2010 9:05 Comments ||
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Pakistani lawmakers have unanimously passed a series of constitutional amendments which will strip the president of key powers.
The bill was approved by 292 votes in favor and no votes against in Islamabad's national assembly on Thursday.
The amendments now need approval of the senate, or upper house, to become law.
A dozen political groups, including the ruling People's Party, had proposed the move.
Lawmakers believe the move will bolster parliamentary democracy weakened by periods of military rule.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who inherited absolute powers from his predecessor, the country's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, would be the main victim of the proposed constitutional reforms as the amendments would effectively turn him into a ceremonial head of state.
The president will lose his power to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve parliament.
The draft amendment would transfer some of Zardari's powers to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and strip the president of his power to appoint army, navy and air chiefs and high-ranking judges.
The amendments fulfill a long-standing demand by the opposition, which has long criticized Zardari for dragging his feet on relinquishing the powers.
Gilani welcomed the sweeping constitutional reforms.
"The impossible has been made possible by the house today,"
Gilani said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] A THAI court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for seven people involved in the storming of parliament a day earlier, including one anti-government protest leader, the prime minister said.
'Once leaders who prefer violence are arrested, we believe we can pursuade other protesters to leave the protest site,' Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters, referring to a mass rally in Bangkok's commercial hub.
The seven people targeted by the arrest warrants include Arisman Pongreungrong, a Red Shirt leader who also stormed an Asian regional summit in the resort city of Pattaya last year, forcing it to be cancelled.
'What the government wants is peace and happiness,' Mr Abhisit said in televised remarks late on Thursday, explaining that the government had clamped down on opposition media that were 'manipulating information that is creating hate'.
He said that arrest warrants had been issued for seven protest leaders accused of briefly forcing their way into the Parliament compound on Wednesday. Lawmakers were forced to flee on ladders over a back wall and senior officials were hastily evacuated by helicopter.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the government has shut down PTV, the satellite TV station of the Red Shirts, and was searching for websites that have put out false information such as that Mr Abhisit had authorised the use of force against demonstrators. Appearing on television, Mr Panitan broke into English to apologise to foreign tourists and expatriates for any inconvenience from the recent events.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] BANGKOK was under a state of emergency on Thursday after anti-government protesters stormed the Thai parliament, but the demonstrators remained defiant and said they were ready for 'war'.
Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were rescued by military helicopter after the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday.
The protesters idolise ousted former premier Thaksin and tens of thousands of them have been rallying in the Thai capital for weeks, at one point splashing their own blood at key locations in a grisly show of defiance.
To contain the growing crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva invoked emergency rule on Wednesday, banning public gatherings of over five people and giving broad powers to police and military in Bangkok and surrounding areas.
'The state of emergency aims to resolve the situation and bring a return to normal,' Mr Abhisit told a nationally televised news conference.
The premier, who has cancelled a trip to the US for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest, said the mass rallies were unconstitutional and had tarnished the country's image, eroding investor confidence. It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WMF > CHINA SHOULD MATERIELLY PROVIDE DIRECT TO SUPPORT INDIA'S MAOISTS WHOM IN TURN WILL CREATE A NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY/PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY OF INDIA.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Polling has passed off in Sri Lanka's post war parliamentary elections amid reports of violence, with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling alliance expected to win with a clear majority.
Voters lined up at polling booths as the nationwide parliamentary elections opened today throughout the island. Results are due on Friday.
Police had deployed 60,000 constables and kept another 20,000 military personnel on alert to deal with any major outbreak of violence during the voting period.
However, independent observers said the nine-hours of balloting were marred by a shooting incident and reports of intimidation.
Rajapaksa, 64, is seeking a two-thirds majority in parliament which would allow him to change the constitution. He remains popular among Sri Lankans after bringing the 26-year conflict with the separatist Tamil Tigers to an end last year.
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported 286 incidents of poll-related violence with most complaints being against Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance.
With more than 14 million eligible voters, the CMEV estimated the turnout at between 45 and 50 percent, much lower than the 75 percent recorded in the January presidential election.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Fresh on the heels of one budget airline announcing that it will ask passengers to pay extra to bring carry-on bags on board, another is considering charging them for using the lavatory.
