The real answer is not in the short-term – current CAA regulations stipulate the maximum number of seats an aircraft can have and for the 737-800 (Ryanair’s only type of aircraft) – this is already at the maximum (189). It would be highly unlikely that they would extend this, particularly if the extra capacity was to be generated by extra standing, and not seating room.
What are the pros? Extra passengers for a start – with the standing seat you could fit 4 passengers instead of 3 into the seat width and perhaps reduce the seat pitch by a quarter; instead of the last 10 rows carrying 60 pax, it could accomodate perhaps 120. Although it wouldn’t be comfortable particularly on longer flights. Safety isn’t a major issue: as long as the standup seat had some way of securing the passenger to it, then it’s really the same as a standard seat. In the event of a major accident, it really makes little chance to survival chances whether you are standing or sitting.
What are the cons? There are several obvious ones. The first being pricing. With Ryanair offering many promotional discounts, the price of standing would never been seen as attractive unless the booking periods were substantially different. For example, paying 5 for a standing room flight tommorow to Madrid is a good deal, paying the same amount for a flight in 3 months when the seat costs 19 is not so good.
Logistically, there are also problems. Hand luggage, for instance – on a full flight the overhead cabins are already overloaded due to most people taking hand luggage. With an extra amount of people on board, there would be no extra place – either forcing people not to take them or to check them in – which defeats the point of it all. It is laughable to think someone could get a cheap ticket for standing and then have to pay for the extra checked bag. There also could be issues with toilets and cabin crew – where there are guidelines for the minimum number per passenger. Looking at some mock ups: it’s gonna be quite difficult to see how much cabin storage could exist for those next to the window without some sort of height limit.
In our own opinions, it’s very unlikely that this would occur. Although it could be argued that people accept even worse conditions on trains and underground systems throughout Europe, the journeys are much shorter and you have the flexibility to get off or take a seat as they become vacant, neither of which is true for a flight. And then there is the danger of potential damage of the flight experience to regular passengers – a concentrated amount of passengers in the back is not only ungainly to look at, but also could produce a large amount of noise and require a disproportionate amount of service.
With Ryanair seemingly not offering the very cheap basement fares any more, it seems that there may be room in the medium term for a little competition. If it goes ahead, a seat on a all-seated airline suddenly gains a little more in value.
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