Cattle class could take on an entirely new meaning in air travel if Airbus goes through with its latest wheeze.
According to a report in the International Herald Tribune, the European plane maker is floating the idea of standing-room only at the back. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard and held in place with a harness.
This idea is coming from an airline that recently unveiled the world's biggest passenger jet, the A380, a double-decker behemoth capable of carrying 555 passengers. Depending on the configuration, the plane is big enough to have a casino, nurseries, shops and bars.
But from such jumbo ideas we have to come to this - packing passengers into the back of the plane in harnesses. At BA, a spokeswoman sounded distinctly sceptical and gave the news blog this tongue-in-cheek response.
"We think British Airways passengers would prefer a little more elbow room to enjoy their complimentary food and drinks. However, we always welcome design innovations," she said.
Harebrained as this particular innovation seems, maybe Airbus is on to something.
The airline industry is operating in a cut-throat environment with the big carriers trying to fend of the budget carriers and having to deal with soaring fuel costs.
Seats are getting thinner and closer together already so standing room is the logical next step. Train and tube commuters regularly have to stand face-to-armpit for hours, so perhaps it is not so absurd to entertain the notion of passengers standing for an hour or two as they jet off to the Med for the weekend.
But long flights could be a stretch even for backpackers. It is hard to envisage someone making the 26-hour flight from London to Sydney without a seat.
Certain practical considerations have to be taken into account too. Eating will be tricky for standing passengers. Will they have to sit cross-legged on the floor or will the plane fit in those tall tiny round tables for their benefit? And will standing passengers be allowed to walk around after takeoff?
Intriguingly the IHT reports that Airbus so far has only pitched the idea to Asian airlines - with no takers so far. Airbus did not respond by the time this posting went up so the news blog could not quiz the company as to why it has only approached Asian airlines so far. Could it be that they thought the idea wouldn't fly in Europe?
Update: The news blog finally made contacted with Airbus, which described the IHT article as a "fantastic story but not true".
The Airbus official went on to say: "It is not something that Airbus has been working on and if flies in the face of what we're doing with the A380, which is more room. We can assure you it is not an Airbus idea, we have not talked about it inside Airbus and our customers have not asked us about such an idea."
Airbus is now seeking a correction to the New York Times article carried by the IHT. Well, it seems there are limits to blue skies thinking.
