Travel News Today

Call it tourist class, coach, economy ... just don't call it comfy.

Flying in the rear of the plane — knees under your chin, $5 fast-food
sandwich in hand and your neighbour's head on your shoulder — long since
lost any semblance of dignity or pleasure.

But standing-room only? Surely that went out with Soviet airliners that used
to pack strap-hanging passengers aboard like a streetcar in rush hour.

Maybe not. At a time when carriers are wooing well-heeled travellers with
horizontal sleeper accommodation, those of us who can only afford cattle-car
class may find ourselves flying on our feet, supported by a harness as we lean
on a padded upright "seat." All in the interest of packing in more
people.

Airbus, whose double-deck A380 is set to enter service this year, has quietly
floated the standing-seat as a future option for short-haul flights. According
to the New York Times, Airbus is trying first to hook Asian airlines on the
idea, though none have agreed to it yet.

But Airbus has flatly denied the Times report. "Our passengers and customers
want more and more comfort," Barbara Kracht, a spokeswoman for the European
aircraft maker told CNN. "We're going in the direction of more comfort,
not in that direction."

The A380 is so big that many airport terminals will have to be modified to
be able to handle it. With standard seating it can carry about 550 passengers.
Replace those seats with supportive boards and the total rises to 850.

Smaller Airbuses could still add scores of passengers this way. So far, the
Times reports, interest has been lacklustre. Japan's All Nippon Airways' response: "It
does not fit with our present plans going forward." And Japan Airlines: "We
have no interest in increasing seat capacity to this level."

But as fuel prices soar, cash-strapped carriers are moving in two directions — offering
business- and first-class passengers bigger and better armchairs more widely
spaced, while trying to squeeze extra seats into economy without cutting already
minimal legroom.

Stronger, lighter materials are being used to make slimmer seatbacks. This
can mean space for six more seats on a Boeing 737, or 12 on a 757, and millions
of dollars in extra revenue. Having passengers stand seems like the logical
next step.

Could it happen here? Possibly not. Transport Canada rules call for "a
seat for each occupant aged 2 and over," said spokeswoman Lucy Vignola. "You
have to be able to sit down and fasten yourself in. So it doesn't sound as
if this new type would be legal in this country."

Either way, Air Canada and WestJet are having no part of it.

"I really don't think we'd ever do that," said WestJet spokeswoman
Jill Bentley. "No, definitely not. We'd never implement this. People standing?
No."

Air Canada is replacing every seat in its fleet, said spokeswoman Angela Mah.
She'd never heard of the stand-up kind. "We have the newest, most comfortable
seating available. In economy, too."