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Asia Pacific
Cash-strapped airlines consider standing room only
No one could have guessed it would come to this: Airbus is reportedly pitching a standing-room-only “seat” option to Asian carriers.
“The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class? A lot more, it turns out,” said The New York Times.
Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness.
The SRO flights would only be on shorter routes.
There are no legal barriers to installing standing-room seats on American airliners, according to the newspaper.
The Federal Aviation Administration does not specify that a passenger be in a sitting position for takeoffs and landings. The requirements are only that passengers be secured.
The aim would be to get more than 850 passengers into a new Airbus A380, which was designed for 500 passengers.
“Airbus simply does not offer a standing room only option to our customers on our aircraft,” the company said in a statement.
“The two Asian airlines seen as the most likely to buy a large plane for short-haul flights, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, are lukewarm about the Airbus plan,” the Times said.
Report by David Wilkening
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