It’s true that paying fees for things like in-flight pillows and sodas can be irritating, but things could actually be a whole lot worse. You could be flying with RyanAir, the British low-cost carrier who has announced plans to start charging people extra for seats.
That’s right, if RyanAir has its way, the lowest fares that it will offer will entitle to you only to a “vertical seat” — in other words, a pole to lean against with a safety strap attached, part of their planned standing room only section. Even worse, to make room for this new section they will remove two of the three lavatories per plane and add a fee of one British pound (about $1.50) to use the third! Ostensibly, this is to limit the demand for the restroom since there will now be only one for 140+ passengers.
Outrageous as this all is, one thing I can say in RyanAir’s defense — they really do offer cheap fares. And they promise to get even cheaper once these standing room sections are installed. On some routes, passengers will be able to buy a “vertical seat” for almost nothing, paying only the taxes and fees. It’s a far cry from the “Golden Age of Air Travel” where airlines would pamper their customers from take-off to landing (and charge through the roof for the experience).
What do you think? Is this version of “no frills” going too far? Or would you like to see U.S. airlines make RyanAir-style moves, if it would get you from Point A to Point B for less?
July 15, 2010
idiots!
July 16, 2010
I honestly don’t think this is a horrible idea… truly if it meant I could travel to more places and use my money for things like lodging or entertainment I would rather do just that… I dont mind the thought of standing, I’m a college girl and I have to watch my expenses carefully. I think most fit people probably would probably feel the same way : )
July 17, 2010
I don’t know about being strap to a pole, but I would like to use my wheelchair.
July 19, 2010
Love it,I would purchase a flight right now….lets do it,the seating is awful now,so I am all for it…I am readynow !
July 19, 2010
This is a intresting and great idea,I surely would purchase a flight under these conditions,alot of us are prone to blood clots from sitting to long.I love it,count my family in on it.How soon can this happen ?Lets fly VERTICAL…..c,mon
July 21, 2010
Interesting. When I was in university I would have done anything to travel so I would have tried it at least once for shorter flights. At this point in my life with a family I wouldn’t unless it was a 1 hour flight. So it depends on the demographic you are targeting.
July 21, 2010
This is like pole dancing right? Do they have a pole available from Seattle to Bangkok? I promise to pee before boarding!
July 22, 2010
I’ve flown Ryanair before, and it really is no frills. It’s great though, it allowed me to take inexpensive (and short!) flights bwtween England and Ireland and France, etc…I think it would be a great idea for short flights like these, unfortunately for this senario, the U.S. is LARGE (aka flights can be longer than an 1.5 hours). So yeah, great if this was offered from say Boston to NY and that sort of thing….:) I will keep my fingers crossed! I’d definately use it!
July 22, 2010
Ryanair is an Irish low cost airline …not British. I had used to fly with them around the Europe number of times(flights up to 3h long). I had only carry on luggage (small suitcase) and several times I managed to get tickets as low as 5 or even 1 Euro or GPB per flight – all included. I could not complain at all. But if you forget print your boarding pass, your luggage is heavier than allowed, ….expect very high charges…They are very good at PR – using controversial statements to create much more free publicity. Very clever …. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanair
July 30, 2010
Sounds good to me…..but what if a person gets sea leg and starts to fall? Lawsuit, big time.
August 1, 2010
this is hillarius , god i love american humour!im australian by the way,its a scary proposition but it had to happen whats next sitting on the wings! like train travel in india, and um ,we will fly slow so u dont get blown off.!
August 4, 2010
No way Jose! Unsafe at any speed.
August 4, 2010
No way however if the pilot drives the plane carefully I can take a chance……:)
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Jack Dawson
Cheap Flights
August 5, 2010
This is a great idea. I’d buy these flights all the time. Not only to save money but the seats these days are so uncomfortable I’d rather stand for any flights less than 2.5 hrs.
August 9, 2010
Vegas and San Diego, hour and 15 minutes. Two people go, buy one sitting, and one standing, piece of cake. More money else where. I’m ready.
August 12, 2010
I’m a big guy. The seats are torture now. Standing for an hour or so is not that big of a deal. With a good sturdy carry-on, a moment or two here and there of sitting is feasible!! Let’s go!
August 18, 2010
well, i think there are a lot of ways to get cheaper flights; however, i dont think most would go for it, but i’ll try and sell it. lol let a normal joe fly the plane, and cut the cost of the pilot. 75/25 % of a chance to die but hey it would be good fun. lol everyone screaming, kids crying—simply scared because they don know why the adults are screaming. OH, and by the way—ill give my sit away on the first flight to someone—just wanna see if the first flight made it before I board…lol