Flying: "it's just a ... bus with wings"

Ryanair CEO: 'Seat belts don't matter'

 Excerpts:

Seat belts don't matter,” Michael O’Leary told The Telegraph. “If there ever was a crash on an aircraft, God forbid, a seat belt won’t save you.”

O’Leary is reportedly on a quest to take out the back ten rows of seats on planes so that Ryanair could offer tickets for one pound (about $1.60) to budget travelers willing to spend a flight on their feet in a “standing cabin.”

The Irish airline is already known for its rock-bottom fares and extensive menu of fees for everything from early boarding to excess baggage. What about the safety of passengers not buckled in? O’Leary told the paper they could just “hang on to the handle” when necessary and would be “fine,” adding that there’s little turbulence in Europe to worry about.

People traveling by subway or train don’t wear seat belts, he pointed out. "The problem with aviation is that for 50 years it's been populated by people who think it's this wondrous sexual experience; that it's like James Bond and wonderful and we'll all be flying first class when really it's just a ... bus with wings,” O’Leary told The Telegraph. "If you say to passengers it's £25 for the seat and £1 for the standing cabin, I guarantee we will sell the standing cabin first.”

Comment: Image:: BOAC De Havilland Comet 1 First Class early 1950s