How much money would it take for you to stand for an entire flight? One airline is trying to find the answer.
An airline in Colombia is considering removing seats on some airplanes to make air travel more affordable.
According to the Miami Herald, budget airline VivaColombia is investigating whether it would be more cost efficient to remove traditional seats in order to accommodate more passengers.
The planes would still give the passengers the option to sit, but the chairs would be more similar to bar stools than traditional airplane seats.
VivaColombia has made clear that they’re not afraid to cut into consumer experience in order to slash ticket prices.
“Who cares if you don’t have an inflight entertainment system for a one-hour flight? Who cares that there aren’t marble floors… or that you don’t get free peanuts?” VivaColombia CEO William Shaw told the Miami Herald.
The idea of standing-room airplane travel has been floating around the industry for a decade-and-a-half, but the idea has yet to be implemented at a major airline. The Civil Aviation Director in Colombia has already come out against the plan.
“People have to travel like human beings,” Alfredo Bocanegra told RCN. “Anyone who has ridden on public mass transport knows that it’s not the best when you’re standing.”
Would you stand for an entire flight in order to get significant savings on air travel? Let us know in the poll below.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
