Michael O'Leary says airline's application to run test flights with standing berths, handrails and straps has been rejected

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Ryanair has announced that an unnamed regulator has thwarted its plan to sell standing-only tickets, by refusing an application for test flights.

Under the scheme, a Boeing 737-800 would be fitted out with 15 rows of seats and 10 rows of standing berths. Michael O'Leary, the budget airline's chief executive, said: "We have asked the question could we run some trials on this and the immediate response is somewhat negative."

Asked how upright passengers would cope without seatbelts, he said the refitted airplane would resemble a classic London Underground train with its distinctive ball-and-strap fittings, saying: "Same as on the London Underground, handrails and straps.".

The Ryanair boss said seated passengers would be charged £25 per ticket with standing customers paying between £1 and £5 for their fares on a flight that would take the average capacity of a flight from 189 passengers to 230.

The proposal is the latest in a series of unrealised cost-cutting ruses that have earned the carrier free publicity and criticism from safety experts.

O'Leary has claimed in the past that the carrier was looking at charging passengers for using the toilet, in a bid to limit loo facilities on planes and replace them with extra seats.

Ryanair has also suggested it would put passengers in the hull – in bunks – and has called for flights with only one pilot instead of the usual two.

Speaking at a press conference in London, O'Leary said he was undeterred by the knockback from the unnamed regulator, although he declined to comment on whether Ryanair had approached the US Federal Aviation Administration or the European Aviation Safety Agency. "I think ultimately it would happen," said O'Leary.