Ryanair Hits Low-Tech Flyers With $60 Fee

(NEWSER) - Passengers who really want to save money on Ryanair may soon be able to purchase "standing room only" tickets on the discount airline's flights, reports the Sun. Under the plan, passengers would huddle about "bar stools" with seat belts. Ryanair officials have already talked to Boeing about designing new planes with standing room that could cut costs as much as 20%. The firm has applied for permission to make the changes with the Irish Aviation Authority, said a source. More»

Instead, extra flight attendants!

(NEWSER) - Co-pilots? We don't need no stinking co-pilots. And it would certainly be cheaper to fly without them, so that's what Ryanair CEO (and infamous cost-cutter) Michael O'Leary intends to do—or at least try to do. O'Leary, whose company has already rolled out the genius ideas of charging passengers to pee and offering standing-room-only tickets , tells the Financial Times he's asking aviation authorities for permission to operate short flights with only one pilot aboard, and replace the second-in-command with ... flight attendants. More»

Airlines ramp up discounts in promotional offers

(NEWSER) - The latest airfare deals aren't online or at travel agencies—they're targeted promotional fares, being emailed and tweeted to customers who sign up to receive them or who enroll in frequent-flier programs. These under-the-radar offers, an inexpensive form of advertising increasingly popular with recession-battered airlines, range from 10% discounts to buy-one-get-one-free ticket deals, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Domestic checked-bag fee increases by $5

(NEWSER) - US Airways is following the lead of its competitors and raising bag fees, reports the East Bay Business Times. On domestic flights, the first checked bag will cost $25 and the second will cost $30, a $5 bump for both. If the bags are checked at the airport instead of online, tack on another $5 each. On transatlantic flights, the airline is adding a $50 fee for a second checked bag ($55 if done at the airport). More»

(NEWSER) - The budget-airline boss who's thinking about charging passengers to use the bathrooms on his planes wants you to know that he doesn't feel a bit bad about it. If you expect to be coddled, Michael O'Leary tells the New York Times, Ryanair's not for you. O'Leary—famed for his rudeness and his readiness to tack on every possible extra charge to keep ticket prices low—is just about the only airline CEO who has anything to boast about these days: Ryanair expects passenger numbers to jump from 58 million to 68 million this year while rival airlines flounder. More»