Post by Banjo on Feb 21, 2012 9:51:05 GMT 7
Are standing seats a standing joke?
Low-cost airline Ryanair has a plan for standing seats on its planes, but airline experts say it will never happen. Why does the budget carrier come up with far-fetched schemes which often don't come to pass?
A standing room only ticket is, traditionally, dirt-cheap. So it's easy to see why this idea appeals to both a no-frills carrier and its bargain-hungry customers.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary - fond of speculating publicly about outlandish money-saving schemes - says his airline is considering vertical seats akin to bar stools with seatbelts. Despite talk of safety testing and tickets selling for £4 or less, aviation experts say such plans are pie in the sky.
It's not the first time the airline has floated the standing seats idea, or indeed come up with headline grabbing schemes which fail to materialise. Charging passengers to use loos is another example, as is a so-called fat-tax - surcharging overweight flyers.
So why announce innovations which that don't happen? It's down to Ryanair's unique approach to PR.
"They've only got one message, which is no frills. Ryanair is all about getting you from A to B as cheaply as possible," says Danny Rogers, editor of PR Week magazine. So everything Mr O'Leary says emphasises the message that his airline strips its operations to the bone to keep costs down.
Even its publicity comes cheap, given his headline-grabbing ways, be it wearing a Germany shirt to a press conference after England's World Cup defeat, or speculating about charging passengers a pound to spend a penny.
"It's kind of genius. There were catcalls from the assembled journalists when he wore the Germany shirt. But that picture was used in all the papers," says Mr Rogers. "His message was that now England are out of World Cup, it's time to get away.
"Journalists love him because he provides good quotes and good pictures, and compelling top lines for their stories. And it's a strategy that works for them - they fly more people than BA or Easyjet."
So are customers likely to be disappointed if vertical seats never materialise? "No. I don't think people really want to fly standing up. They just want cheap tickets."
Which is fortunate, because Boeing, manufacturer of Ryanair's fleet of 737-800s, rules out the concept.
"We are not considering standing-only accommodations, nor do we have any plans to do so," says spokesman Nick West. "Among other things, stringent regulatory requirements - including seats capable of withstanding a force of 16 Gs - pretty much preclude such an arrangement."
Read more....
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8779388.stm
Low-cost airline Ryanair has a plan for standing seats on its planes, but airline experts say it will never happen. Why does the budget carrier come up with far-fetched schemes which often don't come to pass?
A standing room only ticket is, traditionally, dirt-cheap. So it's easy to see why this idea appeals to both a no-frills carrier and its bargain-hungry customers.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary - fond of speculating publicly about outlandish money-saving schemes - says his airline is considering vertical seats akin to bar stools with seatbelts. Despite talk of safety testing and tickets selling for £4 or less, aviation experts say such plans are pie in the sky.
It's not the first time the airline has floated the standing seats idea, or indeed come up with headline grabbing schemes which fail to materialise. Charging passengers to use loos is another example, as is a so-called fat-tax - surcharging overweight flyers.
So why announce innovations which that don't happen? It's down to Ryanair's unique approach to PR.
"They've only got one message, which is no frills. Ryanair is all about getting you from A to B as cheaply as possible," says Danny Rogers, editor of PR Week magazine. So everything Mr O'Leary says emphasises the message that his airline strips its operations to the bone to keep costs down.
Even its publicity comes cheap, given his headline-grabbing ways, be it wearing a Germany shirt to a press conference after England's World Cup defeat, or speculating about charging passengers a pound to spend a penny.
"It's kind of genius. There were catcalls from the assembled journalists when he wore the Germany shirt. But that picture was used in all the papers," says Mr Rogers. "His message was that now England are out of World Cup, it's time to get away.
"Journalists love him because he provides good quotes and good pictures, and compelling top lines for their stories. And it's a strategy that works for them - they fly more people than BA or Easyjet."
So are customers likely to be disappointed if vertical seats never materialise? "No. I don't think people really want to fly standing up. They just want cheap tickets."
Which is fortunate, because Boeing, manufacturer of Ryanair's fleet of 737-800s, rules out the concept.
"We are not considering standing-only accommodations, nor do we have any plans to do so," says spokesman Nick West. "Among other things, stringent regulatory requirements - including seats capable of withstanding a force of 16 Gs - pretty much preclude such an arrangement."
Read more....
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8779388.stm