Budget Irish airline Ryanair have revealed that they’re asking their cabin crew to shed a few pounds in a bid to save on fuel bills.
The price of jet fuel has risen dramatically in recent years and other airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have reacted by passing the cost on to their customers in the form of fuel surcharges.
Ryanair, on the other hand, are taking a different approach. They’re looking at a number of ways to cut costs including reducing the size of their in-flight magazine and removing armrests from the chairs.
They aim to combat the higher fuel prices by lowering the total weight of the plane. They’re going to extreme measures to do this including making the seats and serving trolleys lighter and even putting less ice in customers’ drinks.
Overweight passengers should pay more
They also want to reduce the weight of the people aboard the plane. They support a ‘fat tax’ which would make overweight passengers pay more. They also want their cabin crew to watch the calories. They could have the honour of being a Ryanair calendar girl if they stay in shape.
Spokesman, Stephen McNamara said: “We cut costs wherever possible, and the changes will represent a significant reduction in weight. We also considered removing armrests, but decided against it. We even encourage staff to watch their weight – with the motivation of appearing in the annual Ryanair calendar.”
With a strong reputation for providing cheap and punctual flights, the last thing Ryanair want is to increase their prices if it can be avoided.
McNamara continues: “Fuel is an integral part of the fare – you can’t fly passengers anywhere without it. We would rather make cost reductions and charge passengers for other services.”
