What would you do if your boss asked you to watch your weight? Chances are you’d be a bit offended, right? Well, spare a thought for poor Ryanair staff, who have been “encouraged to watch their weight.”
Why? Well apparently the low fares airline is attempting to save itself some money when it comes to fuel costs. Therefore, if their staff weigh less, their fuel costs will lower. Eh…what next? Asking passengers to diet for a few weeks before they board the plane?
The Irish Independent reports that encouraging staff to watch their weight is only one of the new ways to trim the airline’s fuel bill. They’re also reducing the size of its in-flight magazine and serving passengers less ice in their drinks. Amazing.
The sharp increase in the price of jet fuel has prompted airlines across the globe to think of new ways that they can reduce the weight of their airplanes. And we all know that when it comes to cutting costs, Ryanair excel in that department.
“We cut costs wherever possible, and the changes will represent a significant reduction in weight,” said Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for Ryanair.
“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,” he added.
Dare we mention that Ryanair has also been a very vocal supporter of the introduction of an airplane “fat tax” – meaning that people who are overweight will have to fork out more money for their extra few pounds.
Under their new money-saving plans, the airline’s in-flight magazine will be published on A5 paper, rather than A4. It will also double as an in-flight menu. Apparently doing this will not only save the airline some fuel costs, it will also reduce printing costs by over €400,000.
The amount of ice taken on board Ryanair planes will now be dramatically reduced and the weight of trolleys and seats will be reduced.
But it isn’t just Ryanair who are implementing crazy plans in an attempt to save on fuel costs.
Other airlines have removed magazine racks, rubbish bins and have even replaced glassware in first-class cabins with plastic cups. Glamorous.
Despite the fact that airplane fuel is continuing to rise, Ryanair has claimed that it will remain committed to its promise not to introduce fuel surcharges unlike other airlines.
“Fuel is an integral part of the fare – you can’t fly passengers anywhere without it,” said Stephen McNamara.
“We would rather make cost reductions and charge passengers for other services,” he added.
That’s all well and good, but would you rather pay a bit extra for fuel or have the little extra weight you’re carrying on your belly taxed?
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