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What you could look forward to if you land the role of Ryanair’s head of comms: 5 of their biggest PR stunts

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By Ishbel Macleod | PR and social media consultant

December 19, 2012 | 3 min read

Ryanair is seeking a "brave soul" to take the role of head of communications. We take a look at some of their PR stunts over the past years: what the lucky applicants have to look forward to!

Ryanair is well known for its PR stunts, and has grabbed many headlines with its ‘suggestions’ of ways to make flights cheaper: remove toilets and replace them with seats in order to save two quid a ticket, anyone?

Ryanair suggests showing porn on flights

Ever been on a flight and thought ‘you know what this is really missing? Porn.’Well, Ryanair did last year, with promises of ‘X-rated’ material being available on the inflight-app for iPads and smartphones.The reason this didn’t go ahead? Ryanair is looking into seeing if there are ‘secure powerful enough broadband connections’.

Ryanair plans to ban luggage

In 2004, Ryanair said that it planned to ban all checked-in luggage, with passengers suggested to ‘buy or hire what they need when they arrive at their destination’.Boss Michael O'Leary said it would help to save costs, adding "But you can save so much with Ryanair you can buy your hair dryer when you arrive."This came the same year as O'Leary said he was looking into buying planes without window blinds.

Ryanair offers the chance to stand for £4

For those who feel they don’t get enough room in a normal seat in an airplane, the plans by Ryanair to introduce ‘standing seats’ must not have gone down well.Described by O’Leary as ‘akin to bar stools with seatbelts’, the tickets would have been set to go for about £4 a pop.This was ruled out by Boeing, manufacturer of Ryanair's fleet, because it did not comply with regulatory requirements.

Ryanair looks at making passengers spend a pound to spend a penny

In 2009, O’Leary announced to the press that he was thinking about putting a "coin slot on the toilet door".It was suggested that “people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in future”, with the added comment "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound."Considering that he said last year that people going to Greece could pay in mountain goats, we’re not sure how this would have worked with that particular currency.

Ryanair announces launch of ‘adult only’ flights

Screaming children would have been a thing of the past on planes if Ryanair had gone ahead with their plans for ‘adult only flights’.It was suggested “When it comes to children we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people’s little monsters when travelling.”The release was dated 1 April, but many were unsure if they should believe it, given the stunts which Ryanair come up with regularly.Can you think of any stunts that Ryanair hasn’t pulled that you want to see? Let us know via twitter, using #PRyanair.
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