Original article (in Serbian) was published on 5/11/2024; Author: Teodora Koledin and Milovan Nikolić
FakeNews Tragac recently received a reader’s report regarding a statement made on the morning show of RTS on October 23, in a segment that, at times, appeared to be a subtle promotion of Air Serbia. The discussion that morning focused on low-cost airlines and the “hidden costs” often overlooked when purchasing cheap tickets. Before the conversation with Petar Vojinovic, editor of the aviation web portal Tango Six, the host mentioned that “many low-cost airlines are increasingly charging for additional services”, including, among other things, “charging for toilet use”, which sounded suspicious to our reader. As it turns out, this information is incorrect, and the subsequent conversation contained yet another false claim.
You will pay for luggage and check-in, but not for the restroom
While low-cost airlines do charge for various additional services and amenities, such as extra legroom, seat selection, meals, carry-on luggage, or airport check-in, none of them – as far as we could determine – charge for toilet use during flights. While this fee was once considered, it was never implemented. We reviewed the lists of additional services typical of the most popular low-cost airlines, and none included a toilet use fee.
To be sure, we reached out to three experts in aviation economics and management, including Dr. Andreas Papateodoru, Professor of Industrial and Spatial Economics at the University of the Aegean in Greece. In his response, he emphasized that he has “never heard of an airline charging for toilet use during flights” and remarked that it reminds him of “a humorous video from about 20 years ago depicting low-cost airlines charging for oxygen masks”.
Dr. Marina Eftimiyu, Professor of Aviation Management at the Business School of Dublin City University, told Tragac that, to her knowledge, no airline currently charges for toilet use.
“Toilets on commercial flights are considered essential amenities, similar to seat belts or ventilation, and are generally provided free of charge within the industry. Introducing a fee for toilet use would likely raise significant regulatory and reputational challenges”, Dr. Eftimiyu concluded.
At the same time, she explained that these “rumors” may have originated from “previous discussions about unconventional revenue strategies in the low-cost airline sector”, citing the controversial example of Ryanair, which “remained just an idea and was never implemented as policy”.
Dr. Volodymyr Bilotkach, Associate Professor at Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute in Indiana, also referred to this example.
“Ryanair’s CEO often makes various statements, but it’s not always clear if he genuinely means what he says”, Professor Bilotkach noted, echoing the conclusions of the other experts we consulted.
On the dynamics of flights to Malta
As mentioned, the claim reported by the reader was not the only one found to be inaccurate. Petar Vojinovic, editor of the aviation web portal Tango Six, discussed the advantages of legacy carriers over low-cost carriers, citing flight frequency as one of them. In this context, he gave the example that “Air Serbia flies dramatically more frequently to Malta” than low-cost airlines like Ryanair. While this argument is generally true for many routes, it does not apply to the specific route chosen by Vojinovic as an example.
Since Ryanair does not operate flights from Belgrade, only from Nis, we focused on another low-cost airline that offers flights from Belgrade to Malta, Wizz Air. Compared to this carrier, Air Serbia actually offers significantly fewer flights. Based on data from FlightRadar24, we found that over the past year, from October 30, 2023, to October 30, 2024, Air Serbia operated 126 flights on the Belgrade – Malta route. On the other hand, during the same period and on the same route, Wizz Air operated 177 flights. If you want to book a flight from Belgrade to Malta today, Air Serbia offers two weekly flights (Monday and Friday), while Wizz Air flies to the same destination three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).
If your departure point is Nis rather than Belgrade, Ryanair is your only option for a direct flight. In the observed period (October 30, 2023, to October 30, 2024), Ryanair operated a total of 107 flights to this microstate. Currently, Ryanair offers two weekly flights to Malta, on Mondays and Saturdays. In contrast, Air Serbia does not operate direct flights on the Nis – Malta route.
