British Airways have revealed this brand new seat to be installed on their short haul aircraft (Airbus A319, A320 and A321).
And here it is.
The new BA Seat – Image, British Airways
Welcome to more slimline fun with BA going for thin seats in charcoal-grey – like a lot of other airlines have gone for.
There is a very nasty part to these new seats – whilst they are slimline, seat pitch throughout the plane will be reduced to 30″ across the plane – both in EuroTraveller and Club Europe. In addition seat width will drop to 17.5″ in Club Europe.
30″ seat pitch is what you expect from Ryanair – as well as what’s currently supplied in EuroTraveller.
What’s this crunch for? Simply to fit more passengers aboard. The Airbus A320s will gain six seats, whilst the A319s gain an extra 11 seats.
Seat recline is also to be reduced from 4.5″ in Club Europe to 3″, whilst EuroTraveller is reduce to 2″ of recline
Very much like a lot of EuroBusiness products, the Club Europe seats will have a centre console to allow drinks and such to be placed on it.
However, there is a big nod to those who bring tablets and such on planes, with the introduction of tablet holders in seats
It seems the idea of bring your own IFE is taking off as airlines seek to integrate holders into their seats.
However – whilst slimline seats reduce seat padding to try and create more room, there can be no hiding away that more seats are being installed on planes, squeezing more passengers aboard to get more revenue.
95 aircraft will be upgraded with the new seating over period of 12 months, with the Airbus A320s being tackled first.