Standing room on airplanes a possibility (easier)
From breakingnewsenglish.com
15th July 2009
Michael O’Leary, the CEO of budget airline Ryanair, is
considering new ideas to cut fares for passengers,
including standing on flights.
Most of Ryanair’s flights go to Europe, so the idea of
standing on an airplane for an hour is possible. O’Leary
said that many people stand on a commuter train for
more than an hour every day. If passengers stood, he
could increase the number of passengers by 50% and
cut costs by 20%.
Ryanair is one of Europe’s biggest airlines. It carried
5.84 million passengers in June, which is 13% more than
last year. Mr. Ryan says his airline is popular because it
is so cheap.
They concentrate on making the service simpler and
reducing fares. He has also talked about a “fat tax” on
overweight travellers.
Another idea he had was for passengers to pay one euro
(about a dollar) to use the toilet. If this happened, he
said he could remove two toilets and fit extra seats,
which would reduce the price of air tickets. He said it
might encourage passengers to use the toilets at the
airports instead.
His idea of standing on flights, however, might not work
because of strict safety standards. Everybody over the
age of two must have a seat.
Questions about the story
1
What does Michael Ryan’s airline focus on ?
2
Why might standing on flights be possible ?
3
How much could the passenger capacity increase by?
4
Has his airline been affected by the economic situation ?
5
Which of the ideas mentioned do you think is the best ?
I think …..
6
Would you prefer to pay to use the toilet if the air ticket
was cheaper ?
Yes / No,
7
because …..
because ……
Similar ways to say ‘reduce’ are ….
Lower,
bring down,
decrease,
shorten (time)
Answers
1
It focuses on making the service simpler and reducing
fares.
2
Most of Ryanair’s flights go to Europe, which takes only
1-2 hours.
3
It could increase by 50%.
4
No. It carried 13% more passengers in June this year.