Why BA will soon have less legroom than Ryanair: Airline plans to reduce gap to 29 inches so it can add an extra two rows of seats on short-haul flights

  • The move would make space for an extra two rows of seats for 12 more fliers
  • Airbus A320 and A321 planes, used for short-haul flights, will be affected
  • BA has been warned the move would do little to set it apart from its no-frills rivals

By Richard Marsden for the Daily Mail

Published: 18:25 EST, 5 March 2017 | Updated: 21:45 EST, 5 March 2017

First the free drinks and snacks disappeared from British Airways short-haul flights – and now the carrier is cutting legroom too.

BA is planning to reduce the gap between seats from 30 inches to 29 on some of its planes, less than Ryanair.

The move, which would make BA’s legroom the same as easyJet’s, will make space for an extra two rows of seats to carry 12 more fliers. Ryanair’s gap is 30 inches.

BA is planning to reduce the gap between seats from 30 inches to 29 on some of its planes

BA is planning to reduce the gap between seats from 30 inches to 29 on some of its planes

But yesterday BA was warned that squeezing bigger profits risked removing one of the last differences between the airline and its no-frills rivals.

Tory MP Will Quince, of the Transport Select Committee, said: ‘Of course it’s a business decision for BA to make.

‘But if they don’t now include complimentary food and drink, and have the same legroom, what is it that makes them stand out?’

The Airbus A320 and A321 planes being adapted are to be used on routes from Heathrow and Gatwick to Europe. 

The industry standard for such flights is legroom of 31 or 32 inches. This will still be the gap on BA’s long-haul planes.

The squeeze, due to begin next year, follows plans to add a tenth seat to each row on BA’s long-haul Boeing 777 planes.

Max Kingsley-Jones, of aviation magazine Flight Global, said the latest decision was in response to growing competition on short-haul routes from budget operators. 

He said: ‘BA is seeing declining fares and it has had to adapt.

‘We’ve already seen it with the decision to offer hand luggage-only fares.’

He added that BA has a ‘hard core’ of customers because of its connections at Heathrow and its loyalty programme.

Last week BA’s parent company International Airlines Group announced a 31 per cent rise in year-on-year profits to £390million in 2016.

A BA spokesman said: ‘From next year we’re making a small increase to the number of seats on our A320 and A321 fleet so we can keep fares low. 

Customers fly with us because we offer quality and value in all areas.’​

BA passengers flying from Gatwick to Barbados were delayed for several hours yesterday because of a lack of toilet paper on board. 

One passenger said there was just one roll for nearly 300 travellers. Staff said the wait was also caused by a shortage of paper towels and hand wash. BA has apologised.

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