Ireland’s discount airline RyanAir wants to be known as the “Tesco of the skies.” (Think “flying Walmart.”) The metaphor would apply beautifully if Tesco also charges you a 25 cent unpeeling fee on a 35-cent banana. In the last few years, RyanAir’s “ancillary” revenue, or money raked in from fees, has reached £548 million ($914 million USD).

The latest figures were compiled by researchers at Idea-Works, whose spokesman Jay Sorensen said: ‘Where I have disagreements with carriers is where the additional fee, such as a charge for booking online, is not optional.

‘These fees are really part of the fare. It is disingenuous to pretend they are anything else.’

Oh, yeah, and baggage fees are going up at the beginning of October. But that’s the least of your problems if you gamble all your possessions away while on board.

Ryanair rakes in £548m a year from ‘stealth costs’ [Daily Mail]

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