BA passengers feel the pinch in narrower seats
BRITISH Airways passengers will be squeezed into smaller seats on longhaul flights in the airline’s latest attempt to compete with budget operators.
The company announced a makeover this week for the World Traveller section on its Boeing 777 fleet flying from Gatwick to the Americas.
BA unveiled “elegant new seats” with entertainment screens that are 50 per cent larger – but failed to mention that passengers in economy will have seats that are nearly 10 per cent smaller. The World Traveller section will have 10 seats in every row, instead of nine, moving from a 3-3-3 formation to a 3-4-3 design. According to industry experts, this will reduce the size of long haul seats by 1.5 inches. The change adds 12 more seats.
British Airways refused to divulge the new seat size, but its part-owner Qatar Airways “densified” its own 777 economy seats from 18.5 inches to 17.
Experts said the move would make lengthy trips of up to 11 hours more uncomfortable and leave passengers feeling hemmed in.
Simon Calder, the travel writer, said: “The drawback is a combination of physical discomfort and a sense of overcrowding.”
The revamped aircraft, which are scheduled to be in operation soon, will fly routes to Cancun in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. The new layout will be rolled out next year to all British Airways long haul flights from Gatwick. The announcement is the latest in a series of changes at the airline, which is struggling to compete with low budget rivals.
In January last year BA stopped free food on short-haul flights and introduced a range of paid-for Marks & Spencer sandwiches and snacks, to the consternation of passengers.
The following March the airline announced it was reducing legroom from 30in to 20in on its A320 and A321 Airbus craft. Fresh flowers in first class lavatories were scrapped, as well as a free snack upon boarding.
However, the company was forced to reintroduce a second hot meal and free snacks on long-haul flights after customer uproar when it removed them last year. Alex Cruz, the head of BA, who was brought in from budget airline Vueling to cut costs, admitted mistakes had been made.
The carrier announced yesterday that it is to launch no-frills “basic economy” fares on its long-haul flights.
The tickets, which are expected to be between 10 and 20 per cent cheaper, do not include checked-in luggage or seat selection and are designed to compete with Norwegian, a low-cost airline, on popular routes to North America. It could result in the cost of a return flight from London to New York falling from £468 to between £375 and £420. Travellers can already fly from London to New York over the same dates for as little as £265 with Norwegian.
BA said: “The new fare will give customers a lower price point and more choice.” The airline has also promised that wi-fi will be available on all of its flights within the next two years.