Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tiger Airways would consider offering a 'standing-only' option

Source: Today

Budget airline Tiger Airways would consider introducing a "standing-only" option for passengers in a bid to lower airfares, according to reports.

The carrier said it could follow in the footsteps of United Kingdom budget airline Ryanair and introduce "vertical seating", reported news.com.au, an Australian news website. "We continue to look at ways of making our operation more efficient so we can offer even lower fares than we do now," Tiger Airways director Steve Burns was quoted as saying.

"Everything we do is about offering the lowest possible fare then allowing our customers to choose what, if any, extras they wish to pay for."

Mr Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, has proposed ideas include charging customers £1 ($2.10) to use the loo.

A standing area with "vertical seats" will be introduced at the back of its fleet of 250 planes, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

However, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said the plans would struggle to meet safety requirements.

Spokesman Simon Westaway for another airline, Jetstar, said the airline would never contemplate vertical seating or charging passengers to use the bathroom, news.com.au reported. "A lot of Jetstar destinations are over two hours and longer, so the stand up seating idea doesn't register on our radar. We have a completely different business model to Ryanair," he was quoted as saying.

"It's an interesting concept but I can't see how this would fly in our part of the world."

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