Ryanair to make customers pay £1 to spend a penny

Ryanair customers looking to spend a penny will soon have to spend a pound - as the budget airline readies a £1 toilet charge on its flights.

The scheme, which is likely to see the operator installing coin-operated door releases on its short-haul flights, was first floated last year along with a number of other initiatives to cut costs.

Among those were plans to reduce the number of toilets on each plane from three to one, and increase the number of seats.

While Ryanair has denied the changes are officially going ahead, Marketing reports that there has been confirmation that the budget operator is in discussions with plane manufacturer Boeing about the implementation.

Meanwhile, in a bid to further drive up revenues, Ryanair has also confirmed plans to increase check-in baggage charges from £15 to £20 during the summer. However, it insists the charges will drop back to £15 in September.

Ryanair is no stranger to controversy regarding its innovative charging policies. Last year its passengers were landed with a mandatory £5 online fee after it removed check-in desks, while the cost of checking-in bags was also raised.

Nevertheless, despite criticism over these so-called "hidden" charges, the airline continues to be hugely successful, with its profits soaring by 80% in the six months to the end of September 2009, while at the same time many rivals have struggled.