Down the pan?

Ryanair wants to cut the number of on-board toilets on its planes and replace them with more seats. It says the move would allow it to reduce fares by around five per cent for its customers.

But before it can go ahead with the controversial plans, the airline has to ask permission from aircraft manufacturer Boeing. Ryanair uses Boeing’s 737-800 aircraft on its flights and the maximum of seats currently allowed is 189. The no-frills airline wants to increase this to six more.

Its chief executive Michael O’Leary claims that all three toilets are rarely used on flights anyway, but passengers might disagree.

A spokesman for travel industry association ABTA said: ‘Every traveller knows how inconvenient it can be if the toilet on a plane is out of order or if there is a queue because someone has air sickness in one of the cubicles. Ryanair is clearly on a mission to provide a totally no-frills service but this move could be a step too far.’