A private airline in China is submitting plans for journeys where passengers can opt to stand to save money.
Spring Airlines first initiated the standing ticket idea earlier this year. It is now considering officially submitting it to the aviation regulator before the year is out.
The airline has been trying to cope with surging passenger numbers and new flight routes, but only has 13 planes.
“The process of plane making is really long,” Spring Airlines’ Zhang Wuan told China’s CCTV.
“We already ordered 14 new jets. But some of them will only be delivered next year.
“And you have to wait for at least five years to lease a plane, and it is also very expensive.”
The standing jet could accommodate 40 per cent more passengers compared to a traditional plane.
It could also help airlines cut 20 per cent of their costs, while lowering airfares for consumers.
“It’s just like bar stools. The safety belt is the most important thing. It will still be fastened around the waist,” Mr Wuan said.
The airline would need government backing to go ahead with the plans.
But Spring Airlines president Wang Zhenghua said that he was confident because the idea had been suggested by China’s vice premier Zhang Dejiang.
“He suggested that, for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient,” said Mr Zhenghua.
He added that the company had consulted with Airbus, the company which built most of its aeroplanes, and had been told the proposals were safe.
“So once the government approves it formally, we’ll try it,” he said.
Source: AAP
By: steve rowell - 8th July 2009 at 00:30
The man is a complete “head case”.
He’s ‘Irish’
By: nJayM - 8th July 2009 at 00:21
I think I might have preferred standing to the small seat pitch on Easyjet. 😀
Being 6’4″, walking up and down the isle would have been more comfortable than sitting in their fetal position…
What about take off and landing. What would you advocate as emergency drill for standing passengers or as MO’L is advocating now “Stools” (similar to the leaning kind on the London Underground).
The man is taking leave of any sense he ever had.
Has he worked out the risks to standing pasengers and more-so to other passengers in seats if standing passengers were catapulted forward in an emergency. Human projectiles with the near velocity of the aircraft would be lethal.
Has anyone told him this is the EU and not China.
He had better find out if EU insurers will take on this risk, and will passengers flying in conventional seats have valid insurance cover if injured by a flying projectile of a standing passenger?
I think the whole thing is completely ‘balmy’ and should remain across the sea in Southern Ireland and not be allowed anywhere near the EU airports.
Also I think UK NHS hospitals have a valid case to say that although they will treat all injured passengers in an emergency but that the complete bill will be chargeable at private hospital rates to RyanAir or MO’L’s personal account ideally.
This is where the medical fraternity (Aviation Medical experts) should give him a complete bashing for all the nonsense including planned reducing of toilet facilities on board.
The man is a complete “head case”.
By: J Boyle - 2nd July 2009 at 00:12
I think I might have preferred standing to the small seat pitch on Easyjet. 😀
Being 6’4″, walking up and down the isle would have been more comfortable than sitting in their fetal position…
By: nJayM - 30th June 2009 at 23:03
RyanAir M’OL will be getting ideas from the Chinese, and in places like the Soviet Union of old lives were two a penny.
Anyone want to conceive of the correct way to adopt ‘brace’ position when standing in the event of an emergency.
In the interest of more economies I guess there will be no emergency drill anyway along with no life jackets and no seat belts so why should I be worrying about the ‘brace’ position.
To think people complain bitterly about some of the regular airlines but they are heaven compared to some of these ghastly operations described in the posts above.
By: KabirT - 30th June 2009 at 10:31
old Indian airlines East West was heavily penalized once when 2 people were made to stand on one of its DEL-BOM flights in the early 1990s.
By: Paul F - 30th June 2009 at 09:52
Didn’t the Soviet-era Aeroflot carry standing passengers (and livestock) on some of it’s more… ahem…. rural internal routes?
Don’t know about that, but I did meet a colleague of my father, who had recently taken an internal flight within soviet bloc on Aeroflot in the early 70’s. He had been seated near the front of the aircraft (my memory says it was a Tu154 or an Il62), but for takeoff the passengers in the front few rows were temporarily moved to the rear of the cabin, where they were told to sit on bar-type stools in the central aisle until the plane was airborne and happily established in the climb, whereupon they were allowed to return to their allocated seats!
He never found it whether it was standard practice, though the fact that suitable stools were provided suggested it was not a “one off” situation. So, poor weight distribution due to an over-loaded aircraft,? an inability to re-distribute pre-loaded fuel ?, an airport related issue prompting need for more elevator pitch authority on take off? He never found out… Suffice to say he never fancied flying that route again!
By: Grey Area - 30th June 2009 at 07:00
Are you sure you are not thinking of Ryan Air? 😀
I always try to avoid thinking about Ryanair….. :diablo:
By: Arabella-Cox - 30th June 2009 at 06:52
Didn’t the Soviet-era Aeroflot carry standing passengers (and livestock) on some of it’s more… ahem…. rural internal routes?
Are you sure you are not thinking of Ryan Air? 😀
By: Grey Area - 30th June 2009 at 06:49
Didn’t the Soviet-era Aeroflot carry standing passengers (and livestock) on some of it’s more… ahem…. rural internal routes?
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June 30, 2009 at 5:26 am