The Daily Mail has devoted nearly a whole page of today’s edition to a critique of the no-frills carrier Ryanair, and the fact that it is charging “£4 a litre for its bottled tap water”.
The newspaper points out that the carrier has been charging what it sees as excessive amounts for a product that is “pumped into thousands of homes by Thames Water at a cost to consumers of just 0.06p per litre”.
The only difference, the Mail points out, is that the Ryanair version is carbonated at an east London water treatment works before it is bottled.
The water, branded as “Blue Rock”, does not claim to be spring water – but the newspaper states, is not branded as tap water either.
Ryanair reportedly refused to comment on the story, passing the enquiry to Britvic, which supplies the drink.
Britvic is quoted as saying: “We provided Ryanair with a product to their specifications. The label does not claim to be anything other than what it is and it is up to Ryanair how much they charge.”
Britvic reportedly said that the drink is soon to be replaced with a new product called Pennine Spring, from a natural source near Huddersfield.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
