Budget airline Ryanair looks set to impose a ‘fat tax’ on overweight individuals who choose to take advantage of their cut-price flights.
This decision follows a survey of 100,000 Ryanair customers, 29% of whom were in favour of a ‘levy on the heavy’.
Other revenue generating alternatives suggested by the airline included the introduction of €3 smoking cabins, a €1 charge for toilet paper (which would be decorated with images of Michael O’Leary – Ryanair’s rather quirky Chief Executive), subscription-only access to Ryanair’s website or a €2 fee that would be payable if you chose to bring your own food onboard.
The airline are now planning to poll their passengers for a second time to decide exactly how this charge should be implemented.
Current suggestions include a ‘charge per surplus kilo’ levy applied to male customers who weigh more than 130Kg (20 stone) and to female customers who weight more than 100Kg (15 stone), a ‘charge per surplus inch’ on those whose waist measurements were greater than 45 inches (applied to male customers) or 40 inches (for female customers) or an ‘applies to all’ rule that stipulates that a passenger must purchase an additional seat if their waist touches both armrests simultaneously.
Stephen McNamara, Ryanair’s PR Chief, commented: "In all cases we've limits at very high levels so that a 'fat tax' will only apply to those really large passengers who invade the space of the passengers sitting beside them.
"These charges, if introduced, might also act as an incentive to some of our very large passengers to lose a little weight and hopefully feel a little lighter and healthier."
Famed for headline grabbing publicity stunts – the airline recently announced plans to charge a fee for the use of onboard toilets – whether the ‘fat tax’ will come to fruition remains to be seen. However, while human rights activists will no doubt be up in arms over the proposals, the airline isn’t treading on new ground. Several American airlines have already introduced similar measures that see significantly overweight passengers purchasing an additional seat if they encroach on the space of others.
