Spring Break
Airline squeeze customers for every last drop
Soojin Yoon The University of Southern California
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Opinion
What does the word "recession" mean to you?
Outside of seniors searching for signs of life in a meager job market, chances are good that many in the college-age demographic have yet to bear the brunt of the economic downturn. Insulated from the "real world," the majority of the student body faces no personal consequence in this financial crisis, while parents scramble to find ways to take the sting out of the imminent fiscal sucker punch.
One need look no further than the line outside of the 9-0 on any given night of the week to see that the pocketbooks and wallets of University of South Carolina students have some semblance of immunity to this much-ballyhooed economic recession.
But while full-time students have been able to duck the ominous recession cloud in the way of not having to worry about jobs, they might soon be faced with an entirely different consequence of this fiscal fiasco.
Earlier this week, in exploring options to cut costs in the current economic climate, a chief official for the Irish airline Ryanair announced that the company was considering charging passengers for using the bathroom, among other plans.
That's right, the next time nature calls, it might be from a payphone - or at least while you're flying with Ryanair.
A spokesman for the company would later dismiss this idea as pure speculation, adding that there were no serious discussions to implement such a policy. But it's not that outlandish of an idea that this could possibly work out, especially given the alternative.
There's realistically only a handful of people who would choose to pinch pennies when it comes to pinching - er, using the restroom. In times of extreme urgency, people would be more than willing to pay a nominal fee to avoid spending the remainder of a transcontinental flight with the shameful byproducts of their own frugality. Imagine the additional revenue that could be generated at frat parties if they seized the opportunity presented by premium potties.
Outside of seniors searching for signs of life in a meager job market, chances are good that many in the college-age demographic have yet to bear the brunt of the economic downturn. Insulated from the "real world," the majority of the student body faces no personal consequence in this financial crisis, while parents scramble to find ways to take the sting out of the imminent fiscal sucker punch.
One need look no further than the line outside of the 9-0 on any given night of the week to see that the pocketbooks and wallets of University of South Carolina students have some semblance of immunity to this much-ballyhooed economic recession.
But while full-time students have been able to duck the ominous recession cloud in the way of not having to worry about jobs, they might soon be faced with an entirely different consequence of this fiscal fiasco.
Earlier this week, in exploring options to cut costs in the current economic climate, a chief official for the Irish airline Ryanair announced that the company was considering charging passengers for using the bathroom, among other plans.
That's right, the next time nature calls, it might be from a payphone - or at least while you're flying with Ryanair.
A spokesman for the company would later dismiss this idea as pure speculation, adding that there were no serious discussions to implement such a policy. But it's not that outlandish of an idea that this could possibly work out, especially given the alternative.
There's realistically only a handful of people who would choose to pinch pennies when it comes to pinching - er, using the restroom. In times of extreme urgency, people would be more than willing to pay a nominal fee to avoid spending the remainder of a transcontinental flight with the shameful byproducts of their own frugality. Imagine the additional revenue that could be generated at frat parties if they seized the opportunity presented by premium potties.
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