Business Ethics – Ryanair propose “stand-up seats”
Comments(0) In July 2010, Ryanair made an announcement to the public about removing the last 10 rows of seats on its Boeing 737 fleet and replacing them with 15 rows of stand-up seating.
The tickets would sell for only £4, and requires passengers to stay standing in their seats for the full duration of the flight.
Despite the concerns of the European Aviation Safety Agency, Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara is confident that the stand-up seats will pass safety regulations.
After receiving large amounts of attention from the media, Ryanair later dismissed the plan as “a joke.”
Much controversy arises over Ryanair’s proposal:
- Would the seats be safe during take-off, landing, and turbulence?
- Are passengers in stand-up seating able to exit the plane quickly in a case of an emergency?
- Though tickets for the seats are only £4, Ryanair charges for many other expenses, such as luggage, food, credit card usage, and even toilets.
Although dismissed as a stunt by Ryanair, the main questions is: Is Ryanair’s desire to attract more customers (therefore gaining revenue) but reducing the safety of seats on the plane ethical when customers are willing to put themselves at risk for a low price in tickets?
Read the article here.
Source: UK Daily Mail
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