British Airways is set to increase the number of passengers some of its planes can carry–and to do this, seat spaces are going to be shrinked so more passengers will be squeezed onto its flights.
According to UK’s Independent, “BA is to add an extra 52 seats to its Boeing 777s at Gatwick from 2018, and plans to “densify” aircraft at Heathrow after that.”
Travellers who are accustomed to reasonable elbow room in the cheap seats will find they have less space. While British Airways has nine economy seats abreast in its 777 fleet at present, from 2018 each row will have 10 seats – even though the average girth of passengers is increasing. If the number of toilets stays the same at 11, accommodating almost a fifth more people means that there will be one for every 30 passengers, compared with 25 passengers now,” the website added.
“We’re responding to a market opportunity,” Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG reportedly told investors at a Capital Markets Day.
He added that this will allow BA to “lower the average cost per seat, charge a lower price and stimulate demand.”