Standing seats on flights to Lanzarote

The idea of “standing seats” on flights has gone viral once again, but don’t worry – there’s absolutely no chance you’ll be flying upright to Lanzarote anytime soon.

Viral posts on social media, which have been repeated by several media outlets, claim that the Italian manufacturer of aircraft interiors, Aviointeriors will supply budget airlines with upright seats which may be in in use “as early as 2026”.

However, Ryanair has flatly denied that it is considering introducing standing seats on any of its flights, saying “that’s not in our plans”. The Irish airline was among the first to be linked to the idea, probably because its controversy-loving CEO, Michael O’ Leary, has mentioned the possibility of standing seats in the past, as well as pay-per-use toilets and a “fat tax”.  Aviointeriors has also pointed out the “Skyrider” seats pictured in the viral posts were a prototype project from over ten years ago and are not actually part of their current range.

The costs of retrofitting aircraft and installing oxygen masks as well as basic safety considerations mean that standing seats are unlikely ever to be introduced.   Even if they were, they have only ever been proposed for extremely short-haul flights, and the prospect of a five-hour upright flight to Lanzarote is out of the question.