Spending a penny and standing during a flight will reduce airline prices

Proposed Vertical Seat configuration

UK budget airline Ryanair, is looking to offer $7 to $14 discounted tickets for passengers willing to stand on flights. You read that right. The plan depends on approval of a new seating configuration.

You’d be excused in thinking this is an Irish joke, but the Irish airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, will fund the controversial move by charging customer to use the restroom during flights.

Ryanair has already held talks with Boeing about fitting 15 rows of ‘vertical seats’ in the rear of its 250 planes, in the interests of lowerering their carbon footprint, reducing costs, and increasing passengers. The 15 verticle seats will replace 10 normal seats. 

The seats will be tilted upright for passengers to lean against and will be fitted with seatbelts and a small cushion to support the lower back.

They have not been safety tested so far, and Civil Aviation Authority officials harbor doubts that the revolutionary new seats would pass safety rules, supporting the view that it is starting to smell of a gymick to get media time.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority pointed out

It’s aviation law that people have to have a seat-belt on from take-off and landing so they would have to be in a seat. I don’t know how Mr O’Leary would get around that one

Jetstar, Australia’s budget airline, said they would never contemplate vertical seating or charging passenger to use the bathroom. However asian budget airline, Tiger Airways, is considering the Ryanair concept.

[Daily Telegraph, UK]