Standing cabin for Ryanair flights?
2012-11-09 08:54
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Ryanair has launched the 2013 edition of its sexy charity cabin crew calendar. Take a look at a few of the pics.
Ryanair's quirky CEO, Michael O'Leary, has called legislation forcing passengers to wear seatbelts useless, unnecessary and insisted upon only by authorities he deems "plonkers".
The Telegraph reports that O'Leary dismissed the notion that seatbelts are an essential safety requirement, saying: "If there ever was a crash on an aircraft, God forbid, a seatbelt won't save you."
O'Leary is reportedly on a quest to take out the back ten rows of seats on planes so that Ryanair could offer tickets for one pound (about R13) to budget travelers willing to spend a flight on their feet in a "standing cabin."
He told The Telegraph that people should be permitted to stand on a plane, as it is basically "just a bus with wings".
So, what about oft-bumpy landings? He suggested passengers would be fine if they just "hang on to the handle"
Todd Curtis, a former Boeing engineer and founder of AirSafe.com, says O'Leary's no-seatbelt ideal is unrealistic. "It's not going to be acceptable to the regulatory authorities," Curtis told NBC News, adding that he got a chuckle out of O'Leary's comments.
Seat belts keep passengers safe during turbulence, which can strike unexpectedly and can even happen when the sky appears to be clear, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
