Ryan Air Says Porn May Go Sky High

ABC News’ Lisa Stark reports:

You can watch pornography in the comfort of your home, or in some hotel rooms, but on an airplane?

 The CEO of Dublin, Ireland-based Ryan Air is floating the idea of offering porn on his low-cost carrier. According to British press reports, CEO Michael O’Leary is mulling over a new app for iPads or smartphones, that would allow passengers to watch erotic movies, for a fee of course.

 O’Leary makes it clear he’s not proposing to offer porn on the plane’s TV screens, just on personal electronic devices. Still, as any flyer know, there’s hardly any assurance that passengers and children sitting nearby wouldn’t be in for a shocking sight.

The proposed app could also include games and gambling. The airline says the idea would take at least a year to implement, requiring good broadband connections on the aircraft. The airline insists it hasn’t decided for sure whether to move forward.

Ryan Air, which flies throughout Europe, charges fees for just about everything from checked luggage, to food and drinks, even for checking in online and printing your boarding pass, even though that is required because the airline doesn’t offer any check-in at the airport. Much like Spirit Air in the U.S., Ryan Air’s philosophy is to charge as low a fare as possible for your seat, then heap on fees for everything else. Major airlines, of course, have adopted some of these fees themselves.

Ryan’s CEO has made it a habit of suggesting controversial moves. He’s talked about taking out some of the bathrooms to add more seats, selling standing room seats, and moving to pay toilets. And the airline has just launched a racy crew calendar as well.If O’Leary does make good on his latest idea, you can bet that’s one add-on fee that U.S. airlines aren’t likely to adapt.