Now that budget airlines charge you for carry-on bags and blankets, you'd be forgiven for thinking that every corner had been cut. Wrong: Irish budget carrier Ryanair has declared its intention to offer standing-room tickets and — if that's not enough — to charge passengers for access to the inflight bathroom. For as little as $7.50, passengers would be able to fly buckled into a space-saving upright module (see video below), while toilet breaks will set flyers back $1.50. Could "vertical seats" meet international safety standards? Not likely, says Megan Lane at BBC News Magazine. Even Boeing, which makes Ryanair's planes, calls this "headline grabbing scheme" to rustle up some cheap publicity "pie in the sky." The timing of the announcement, says Quentin Fotrell at The Wall Street Journal, seems calculated to distract from Ryanair's other news: additional charges for check-in luggage. Here's a news report showing how Ryanair's stand-up seats might work:
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