Airline Wants to Introduce Standing Room Only

A Colombian airline, VivaColombia, is considering implementing a new class for cheap air fares that will consist of standing room only. And no that’s not a joke, right now studies are being conducted to see if this theoretical low-budget approach to flying will be feasible.

As outrageous as it sounds, this isn’t an entirely new idea. Airbus talked about dong this over 10 years ago and even Ryan Air has tossed around the idea. The idea has never gained much traction due to aviation authorities calling it into question for obvious safety concerns and perhaps over concerns that it’s just an all-around bad idea.

AvioInteriors, an Italian seat design company, built the SkyReader seat in 2010, which was meant for passengers to “perch” on and ride like a saddle on a horse. It was likely going to have around 23 inches of pitch and be used for flights of 2 hours, although it would be considered for flights up to 4 hours. But like other ideas before it, this idea also never went anywhere because it never gained approval.

These seats didn’t sound that bad when I first imagined them, but when I looked at photos of just how sandwiched the passengers were with less than 2 feet of pitch, it looked like nothing short of a nightmare.

Based on the many failures to come before it, it wouldn’t surprise me if this reiteration of this concept ultimately fails as well. Colombia’s Civil Aviation Director Alfredo Bocanegra already has said that he was not going to allow this concept to come into fruition because “People have to travel like human beings.”

Which brings up an interesting question… are these “standing room only” seats an affront to society? 

Personally, I don’t think these are a good idea for a few reasons.

There’s the obvious safety concern here, which actually might not be the ultimate determining factor. I don’t think it’s that unthinkable to imagine some kind of perched seats that allow passengers to “harness” in and be secure enough to withstand turbulence and even some hard landings.

I think the bigger safety concern would be standing passengers “perched” not being strapped in. In that position, it’s a lot easier to fall over and knock into other people or items, so I could see that causing a lot of concern. Also, depending on how they pack passengers in, this could present dangers in the event of emergency exits since more bodies + less space = more chaos.

But beyond the potential safety issues, should traveling in an airplane in a “standing only” section be an acceptable mode of transportation?

Let me just go on the record and say that I’m just assuming that this question is only being asked for short haul flights. The idea of flying transatlantic or any ultra-long haul flight while standing or perched sounds like some form of cruel and unusual punishment and it shouldn’t even be given consideration in my opinion.

But things are little different for short-haul flights.

These standing room only flights are generally targeted for flights of  2 to 3 hours. For these flights, you can’t forget to factor in the time walking through an airport, standing in line to board, and then standing on the plane awaiting to depart. Then once you land you’re not guaranteed an immediate exit, either. So your total time on your feet for a 2 hour flight could easily exceed 4 hours. On a flight returning after a long vacation, this would be extremely uncomfortable and exhausting.

For ultra-short haul flights, (e.g., flying from Houston in Dallas in 40 minutes), the standing room only option doesn’t that bad to me. I could deal with tight spaces for that long but it still raised the bigger question of whether or not this type of travel should be allowed at all.

I think in light of this downward spiral that we’re seeing of airlines offering the least level of comfort possible for a “lower” price (that sometimes isn’t even lower), many people see this as just going too far.

Although I try to stay open-minded about things like this, I’d have to say I’m with the masses who oppose this for the most part. Aside from maybe ultra short-haul flights, I think this standing room only option sets bad precedent and is just going too far even if it makes travel “less expensive.” Flights are just too long and unlike busses or trains, there’s no escape if you’re crammed in close to someone who’s making your flight a living hell. I think airlines should just take a pass.

H/T: Fox News

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