Your morning roundup of airline news you need to know, plus stuff you want to know.

Mayor Says, More Alcohol at O’Hare and Midway

It’ll be a little easier to drown your sorrows at Chicago’s two major airports, if Mayor Richard Daley has his way.

He wants to have “stationary pushcarts” that sell beer and wine beyond security checkpoints, and he wants airport restaurants and bars that now close at 10 or 11 at night to be allowed to sell hard liquor 24-hours a day. The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Daley’s reasoning (complete with garbled syntax – or could that be an editing error?): “Many times, people enjoy to have a drink. Is there anything wrong with that?” No, Your Honor, there is not.

Unless of course the boozers continue the party on the plane with very bad results.

Standing Room-Only Flights on Ryanair

You have to give Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary credit; nobody gets more PR mileage out of dumb ideas than he does – pay toilets on planes, anyone?

The latest: “standing room only” tickets for Ryanair flights. Actually, he’s mentioned this before, but it’s still getting talked about (uh, like here), which is the whole point. But will it happen? The consensus is a resounding “no”.

The BBC points out that from a safety point of view, passengers would require so many straps and belts across their upright forms that it would be akin to “the Hannibal Lecter way to fly.” And the Wall St. Journal says, “There’s more chance of O’Leary being the first man on Mars than getting clearance for stand-up seats.” Still – when it comes to Ryanair – you say, “it’ll never happen” at your peril.

Bad Airline Food – Calls for New Regulations

Yesterday, New York Sen. Charles Schumer told the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) he wants to see a ban on airline catering companies with repeated health-code violations.

You may recall USA Today’s recent expose into this matter, where inspectors of these airline catering firms found “cockroaches, flies, mice and other signs of inadequate pest control”. Or maybe you’d rather not recall that. Like we always say, pack your own lunch for the plane.