Standing Room Only on an Airplane… Here It Comes Again!

Hard to believe it’s been about five years since Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary proposed offering passengers standing room only instead of seats. Of course, this is the same carrier that proposed having only one pilot in the cockpit to save money. Fortunately both ideas went down the same drain.

But according to this article, O’Leary wasn’t the first to propose having passengers stand while flying. No, they say the honor goes to Spring Airlines, the Chinese budget carrier. The article notes that they actually thought of this idea a year earlier because of the travel havoc surrounding the Chinese New Year.

Apparently the idea is still alive in the mind of Spring. The article says the airline is considering a proposal for standing room only passengers. Of course, such fares would be much less expensive but it seems doubtful any government would allow passengers to stand during a flight, particularly at takeoff and landing. That said, it would be interesting if the Chinese government approved it even on an experimental basis.

At least it’s a way to work on those leg muscles!