Standing Room Only Flights?

Budget Airline Proposes 'Standing Room Only' on Flights
Updated: 5 hours 7 minutes ago

Hugh Collins Contributor
AOL News
(July 1) -- The Irish budget airline Ryanair wants to introduce "standing-room only" areas on its flights, with passengers strapped into so-called vertical seats.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the company hopes to bring in 10 rows of standing room on its flights and sell the "seats" for as little as 4 pounds ($6.07) apiece, The Daily Telegraph reported.
A Ryanair plane flies over Nantes, in western France in 2005.
Frank Perry, AFP / Getty Images
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said Thursday the Irish budget airline plans to add a "standing-room only" section to its planes in an effort to offer fares as low as $6.07.

The vertical seats would have a belt that goes over the shoulder to secure the passenger, a Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail. The spokesman said Boeing is looking at manufacturing the seats.

The standing passengers would be accommodated on shorter flights first, such the Dublin to London route. Later, the company would introduce them on longer journeys as well.

However, Ryanair's proposal is far from winning official clearance, with both U.K. and European regulators sounding skeptical.

"This is unprecedented and unlikely to be certified in the near future," a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency told The Guardian. The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority also warned that rules require that every passenger have a seat.

Ryanair is also considering removing some of the toilets on its flights and charging for the use of the remaining ones.
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