The airline that wants to make passengers stand

A Colombian airline is considering eliminating seats to create standing-room-only flights.

VivaColombia wants to remove all seats from its planes to squeeze in more passengers and lower the cost of flying.

The budget airline's founder and CEO William Shaw told the Miami Herald: "There are people out there right now researching whether you can fly standing up. We're very interested in anything that makes travel less expensive."

SEE ALSO: These flying facts will gross you out

SEE ALSO: Who should get the armrest in the middle seat on a plane?

The budget airline's goal is to give working-class Colombians the chance to afford flying and explore their country.

Shaw added: "Who cares if you don't have an in-flight entertainment system for a one hour flight? Who care that there aren't marble floors...or that you don't get free peanuts?"

While standing-room-only flights might sound revolutionary, VivaColombia is not the first airline to consider the bold move.

In 2012, Ryanair revealed plans for standing-only tickets but these were foiled by an unnamed regulator who refused permission for test flights.

The application was made to test flights with standing berths, handrails, and straps, but the response to it was "somewhat negative" said Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary.

It posed certain safety questions, particularly pertaining to how passengers would wear seatbelts, and when asked how he envisioned the standing berths to be laid out, O'Leary said: "Same as on the London Underground, handrails and straps."

1 / 12

Airbus' 2014 patent for bicycle-style plane seats would mean a less comfortable flying experience and with more passengers packed in. The seats have no tray, headrest or much legroom, but just a small backrest. They are fastened to a vertical bar and retract to increase space when not in use. The patent was submitted with budget airlines in mind.