Would “vertical seating” make you more likely to fly?
Ryanair is apparently betting on it. According to several British and Irish news sources, the low-cost airline — whose head honcho, Michael O’Leary, is known for his controversial proposals — is considering standing-room areas on its planes.
It’s not quite clear how passengers would be supported during takeoff and landing, but according to the reports, some sort of stool would replace the traditional airplane seat. The Sun reports that “passengers would pay less to huddle next to what have been described as ‘bar stools,’ with seatbelts around their waists,” and Sky News writes that “passengers would be able to sit on bar stools, similar to the buffet carriage on trains, or stand up for flights lasting less than an hour and a half.”
According to the Telegraph of London, Ryanair is believed to have gotten the idea for this scheme from China’s Spring Air, which has been investigating the possibility of vertical seating. A spokesman for Spring Air reportedly added that the European airplane manufacturer Airbus has told the airline that its plan could be safely implemented.
Ryanair has frequently raised eyebrows, and headlines, with announcements of plans to impose a “fat tax” on overweight fliers and charge passengers to use the bathroom, among other ideas. And assuming the carrier is serious about pursuing what it calls “vertical seating” — The Daily Mail’s report says Ryanair is already talking with Boeing about designing planes with such standing room — it would have to get the go-ahead from the Irish Aviation Authority before implementing the policy.
In the meantime, it’s worth considering the question of whether fliers would, ahem, stand for this. Would you pay a reduced fare for the right to spend a flight on your feet? If so, how much would you be willing to fork over — and for how long of a flight? Or is this an idea that should have the legs cut out from under it right away? Share your thoughts with other travelers in the comments section.
hell no, I hate catching flights already with econ seating.
It's very funny to pay for pee
Even if Airbus has said the plan of "vertical sitting" could be safely implemented, I don't think it's a good idea. Think of the balance passengers in those areas would be in during plane crash situations.
Absolutely not. And it's impractical for the very long flights I usually find myself on. Standing for 10+ hours? No thanks, I'll pay the higher fare. :)
I know RyanAir's thing is to go cheap to save money. But how about adding value for customers, not just dropping the price. There is a medium. Ryanair doesn't seem to see it.
Ryanair wants to drop the price of base tickets below the cost of providing every service, instead charging for each service as you use it. For some industries, it might make sense. But I can almost guarantee that I will never fly an airline that makes me pay separately to go to the bathroom (because, when you have to go, you don't really want to be fiddling for a credit card), or that forces me to buy a ticket where I will have to stand up for an entire flight. The non-comfort factor (not to mention, the safety one) isn't worth me saving a couple of bucks. Sure, I may have to pay a little more for a seat, but it is well worth the price.
I can see it all now, dozens of bodies leaning on bar stools - no wait tethered to bar stools, clasping their belongings around them. They won't need to worry about WiFi because they won't have room for their computer. They won't need to worry about food or drink because there's no place to put it. Without food or drink they won't need to pee. But, that overhead storage bin is sure to cost you a fortune as everyone battles for a place to put their bags & coat!
Totally Rubbish! I can hardly tolerate the cramp spaces now in the economy class. But it might work if it's FREE! which it will never be!
This is such a non-story. O'Leary is a master of the PR game and by recycling his ridiculous waffle like this you just give him more airspace. It would clearly never ever be possible to do this. Think about the issues of encountering severe turbulence, the possibility of law suits if someone fell and injured themselves.
Well when you spend a penny as they say youll have to say spend more than a penny.
Scott McCartney, who writes about air travel for The Wall Street Journal, has weighed in on this subject as well. His opinion: It'll never happen. Check out his blog post at blogs.wsj.com/.../why-there-wont-be-standing-room-only-jets-or-pay-toilets-not-even-on-ryanair.
I agree to seat on bar stools if it will be accompanied by a fully stocked bar :)
looks like better cross legs then because i aint paying to use toilet lol
Passengers' heads would be dangerously close to the ceiling for either bar stools or standing room only.
I don't care how short the flight is - hitting turbulence without having a true seatbelt on (in a seat)...could lead to head injuries and/or death! Consider all (100+) passengers on the plane hitting their heads at once!
On the bright side: wouldn't have to fight over the under seat storage...there wouldn't be any!!!
