Aviation

April 1 Alert: Introducing, Duty Not Free: Pay-as-you-go toilet time

CALGARY, April 1, 2018 /CNW/ – Swoop, Canada’s only ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC), has confirmed it will charge travellers to use the bathroom when they hit the skies on June 20.

“When our initial network was announced in February, some reporters asked if our unbundled a la carte model would see travellers being charged to use the lavatory, and that got us to thinking,” said Steven Greenway, Swoop President, who joined the company earlier this month. “There are costs associated with offering onboard lavatory amenities: Maintenance, water, cleaning, etc. Since not every traveller needs to use the lavatory on a flight, it stands to reason that using those amenities should only cost the people who use it, and not those who don’t.”

What can travellers expect
To enter the lavatory, you’ll need to tap your credit card and the meter will start running as soon as you lock the door. At $1 per minute, the quicker you do your business, the less you’ll pay. Looking to take your time in there? That’s up to you. The traveller is in control.

When it comes time to clean up your act, just tap your credit card to Swoop’s patent-pending toilet paper dispenser at $0.25 per square. Or if you really want to pinch a penny, you can BYOTP. Select flights will also have a pay bidet for extra cleanliness.

There will also be a selection of luxury products available for an additional fee, including Swooper-Ply toilet paper for the daintiest derrieres, scented soaps, hand-crafted by hipsters, and Swoop Poop sprays to prevent embarrassing odours for $1per spritz.

And be warned, if you don’t wash your hands you’ll pay a hefty $25 penalty for being a germ-spreader… because, EW.

To learn more, check out our Duty Not Free Explainer Video at FlySwoop.com/DutyNotFree.

Aviation

No More Jet Airways. Supreme Court Says “No Choice”, Orders Liquidation

Jet Airways was once one of India’s leading airlines, known for its service and extensive network. Founded in 1993, it served millions of passengers, connecting cities across India and international destinations.

However, since grounding its flights in April 2019, Jet Airways has struggled to navigate financial turbulence, leading to years of efforts to revive the airline and return it to the skies.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways, citing “no choice” but to take this decisive step after the resolution plan failed to meet creditor obligations. The court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142, which allows it to make orders for “complete justice” in any case, overriding previous tribunal rulings.

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The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC), which had won the bid to revive Jet, faced criticism for not fulfilling payment commitments to creditors, which included major banks like the State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank.

The Supreme Court’s ruling pointed to “peculiar and alarming” issues surrounding the resolution plan’s implementation, leading to its conclusion that liquidation was the only feasible outcome.

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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized that while liquidation should be a last resort, it was necessary as the resolution plan was “no longer capable of implementation.”

In line with this decision, the court ordered that the ₹200 crore already infused by JKC be forfeited and directed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Mumbai to appoint a liquidator to oversee the process.

JKC, a partnership between Murari Jalan, a UAE-based Indian entrepreneur, and Florian Fritsch, a Jet shareholder through Kalrock Capital Partners Limited, had taken ownership of Jet Airways two years after it was grounded. The consortium’s inability to fulfill its financial obligations has now led to this final verdict, marking the end of an era for Jet Airways in India.