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Long time ago I remember reading about them on RyanAir but I can't find anything on their website?

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    From the UK to where? The world?
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 13:24
  • You want to find these?
    – thanby
    Commented Nov 16, 2015 at 5:59
  • @thanby yes.. obviously
    – Ulkoma
    Commented Nov 16, 2015 at 8:07
  • @MarkMayo to anywhere
    – Ulkoma
    Commented Nov 16, 2015 at 8:08
  • There is no reason for airlines to do this because they are limited by weight not space.
    – JamesRyan
    Commented Nov 16, 2015 at 10:22

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So three years ago, RyanAir sort of implied they might do standing seats if allowed. The world looked on in horror, shock, half contemplated if they'd do it for one hour flights, and then it went away.

Except it didn't. Airlines have half-mentioned it since then, including both RyanAir and SpringAir.

Again, this is just talk at this stage, until it wasn't, when AirBus filed their saddleseat patent, which was almost standing seats. You perch on the seats instead of reclining. Here's the official patent.

A study in Malaysia then showed that on a 737-300, a standing cabin would lead to a 21% increase in capacity and drop tickets up to 44%.

And then this year, not to be outdone, Boeing filed a patent for an upright sleep support system on planes, which could in theory reduce the need to recline seats, and some argue could be combined with other formats to allow standing too. The more the merrier, perhaps?

While no airline has actually offered this yet, given the experiments in seating (see AirNZ's cuddle class) and the ever increasing demand to fit more people on flights for less money, many people (including that aforementioned study) predict standing class might not be that far away.

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  • Oh, I'd like to test that "upright sleep support system"; I just can't manage to sleep in not-so reclining seats.
    – Matthieu M.
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 14:17
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This was a publicity stunt by Ryanair. No such product exists and it is dubious it would be approved as safe by the Civil Aviation Authority.

It's worth noting that Ryanair and Easyjet are already close to the maximum number of people they can allow on board based on the size of the emergency exits on the aircraft they use. Therefore this product would not really offer them any advantage in terms of densification.

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    @MarkMayo I think we will have to disagree on the meaning of "exist" here. A patent is little more than a feasible idea. Most companies with the resources will patent everything they can, even if they have no intention to produce it.
    – Calchas
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 13:25
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    that's why I specified patent, I'm not calling you wrong, I'm just saying it wasn't merely a publicity stunt - they're not alone in spending time and resources around this topic. Here's hoping no airline actually implements it.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 13:27
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    I have little doubt that Ryanair would do this if they thought they could get away with it.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 14:02
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    @MarkMayo You said the product exists. It doesn't. The idea for the product exists but that idea has not been turned into a product.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Nov 15, 2015 at 14:34
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    Yeah, I also said "Technically" and "in patent form". Context. But it's not really worth it - I'm not disagreeing with you.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Nov 16, 2015 at 8:18

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