Ryanair aims to ban luggage check-in

Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary is aiming within a couple of years to ban passengers from checking in hold baggage…

Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary is aiming within a couple of years to ban passengers from checking in hold baggage in the next stage of his campaign to drive down costs at the airline.

According to a report in today's Financial Times, Mr O'Leary is also pressing ahead with plans to introduce paid-for, seat-back entertainment for next year's summer season, ranging from cartoons to sitcoms, sport and films, although not live television, to develop revenues.

The moves came as Mr O'Leary yesterday announced the airline's biggest discounted seat promotion with one million seats at 99 pence, excluding taxes and charges, for the coming winter season.

He admitted that the easy moves to take out costs ranging from Internet booking to operating to secondary and regional airports had already been exploited. "Now we must be cleverer," he is reported as saying.

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The need to reduce costs further to support a further lowering of average fares has been highlighted in recent months by the intensifying fare war that is being waged on European short-haul routes.