Airline CEO: Plane Seat Belts Are Pointless

The colorful, attention-loving chief of Ryanair is at it again. The same CEO who suggested installing pay toilets on planes is now revisiting the idea of standing-room-only sections on flights and dissing the safety feature fliers use most.

"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."*

Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss O'Leary's claim. Is a seatbelt actually useless on a plane? Is this a way to get people onboard with his standing-room-only idea?

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