Ryanair sick bag makes other designers green with envy

IT has to be one of the most unlikely gallery exhibits in years. The sick bag which Ryanair stocks on its planes for ill passengers is on show at London Design Museum.

The dual purpose bag (if not used for vomit, a passenger can pop holiday snaps in it and send them away to be developed without need of a stamp) has been hailed as a classic design.

The museum invited 14 experts from across the world to choose good examples of design. The catch was that none of the items chosen could cost more than £10 (€14), hence the exhibition’s moniker, Under a Tenner.

The items included a biodegradable cardboard toilet; a Brazilian flip-flop; a Bic biro; a Masterlock padlock and the sick bag.

The latter was chosen by London product designer Sam Hecht, who said: “I am always intrigued by the ideas businesses have when confronted with severe conditions. Ryanair represents an extreme cost condition; it is one of the cheapest possible platforms for air travel. Only with such great cost constraints would Ryanair have come up with a sick bag that doubles as a photo-developing envelope.”

Ryanair makes the sick bags available on request to passengers feeling unwell.