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Some more cheerless news about the new ‘densified’ British Airways short-haul aircraft

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We have known for some time that British Airways is moving at speed to add even more seats to its short-haul Airbus fleet.  The exact details are only starting to emerge now as cabin crew are sent for retraining.

A few weeks I reported how duty free is being dropped from British Airways short-haul flights.  This is because a rear toilet in Euro Traveller (economy) is being removed to fit in more seats, and replaced by a loo built into the back wall of the galley.  The loo will take up part of the space formerly occupied by the duty free trolley. The Club Europe loo at the front remains.

Club Europe British Airways

A member of BA cabin crew posted the following additional information on Flyertalk over the weekend, some of which is new.  This only applies to Heathrow services for now, as the A319 aircraft will be moved over to Gatwick:

The first twelve rows of seating (A320) or fourteen rows (A321) will retain the current seats.  USB and standard power sockets will be added.

Seats in the rest of the aircraft will be replaced by ultra-thin seats with a 29 inch pitch.  From March, there will be a substantial benefit in being seated in the first 12 or 14 rows.

The ultra-thin seats will not recline (fine by me, to be honest)

The ultra-thin seats will have USB sockets but no standard plugs.

Sales of Club Europe tickets will be capped on longer flights as there will no longer be enough galley space to store meal trays beyond a certain point.  This is not an issue on shorter flights as the meal is served on one tray.

The new aircraft being received by BA from March will not have drop down monitors.  This means that cabin crew will do manual safety demonstrations and there will be no ‘moving map’ to watch.  This is a fuel saving measure due to weight.

There will be no waste facilities or potable water supply at the rear of the plane, again due to the need to free up space to fit in the loo.  This means that all waste will be carried through Club Europe for disposal at the front, and all requests for free tap water will require a trip to the Club Europe galley.

The Club Europe wardrobe will remain but will also be used for general storage and may not be available for coats – the crew member quoted was not sure

Very little of this is enticing, but apparently we only have ourselves to blame for refusing to spend 1p more than a low cost carrier for our flights.  Even though BA will always cost 1p more than a low cost carrier due to the £19.30 per person Heathrow Passenger Service Charge …..

In other news ….

There are two more cheerful bits of BA short haul news.

The Qatar Airways planes are coming back.  There is a rumour that six Qatar Airways short haul aircraft will be returning to the fleet for February, March and April.  This is to provide cover whilst the A320 and A321 aircraft are refurbished as well as helping BA meet its obligations to use the Monarch slots at Gatwick it just purchased, but must ‘use or lose’.

The Flyertalk post mentioned above also reiterated – as has been said before – that Club Europe catering will receive (another) relaunch in April.  Let’s hope it is more successful than the last one, which was seemingly designed by a 50-year old ex-public schoolboy who believed that the modern business traveller jetting in from Milan wants a ploughmans lunch.  I am slightly surprised that the crew don’t pass around a jar of pickled eggs. 

Just to keep it very simple for BA …. Pret had sales of £776m last year.  They have already done the market research. If Pret don’t sell it, let’s just assume that no-one wants it and move on …..

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Comments (178)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Tobs says:
    2 Jan2 January 16:11

    At the end of the day, we are all free to choose the airline we fly with. If you don’t like the new seats/policy you should use another airline. Remember, you are free to choose the airline you fly with! No one forces you to fly with BA.
    Finally, is it fair to criticise a product, when you haven’t had the chance to experience it? You may think it’s bad, but until the product is rolled out, you cannot say that.
    I’ve flown with those slim seats on Vueling and Iberia Express, and surprisingly, the leg room is rather good. And yes, the USB plugs do charge your phone.

    • shd says:
      2 Jan2 January 16:17

      On IB Express on a dense A320 the legroom is non-existant, and I’m not that tall!

      I’m just about to book QR J to Asia. Half the price of BA and at least twice as good. Win-win! 😀

      PS this isn’t the BA supporters’ club, we can criticise anything about BA we damn well want to 😉

    • John Baldo says:
      2 Jan2 January 16:32

      Except that so many of the slots at Heathrow and gradually at Gatwick, as well as airlines across Europe are being gobbled up by IAG and standardised.

      Iberia Express seats have no leg room at all. I could only sit at an angle!

      • Stu N says:
        2 Jan2 January 16:40

        At 5-11 I found IB Express to be horrendous. Easily the worst airline seat I’ve sat in. Fortunately the middle seat was free so I could sit at an angle but on a 3h flight (Madrid-Edinburgh) that was really uncomfortable too.

    • Rob says:
      2 Jan2 January 16:48

      I don’t actually criticise the seat if you read what I wrote!

      • Stu N says:
        2 Jan2 January 16:59

        I will reserve judgement too, but if they _are_ the same as IB Express, there will be a real issue. It’s not just the limited pitch, it’s the hard plastic seat back as well. Though the IB Express ones did recline which suggests it might be a different set-up.

      • Tobs says:
        2 Jan2 January 17:04

        Sorry Rob! I’m not saying that you’ve criticise the seat! but my comment was directed to the readers/commentators that complain/criticise the seat before putting their back on it. I think it is not fair. You may think it’s uncomfy etc, but until you try it, you really don’t know.
        I agree with everyone else, standard A320 in the IB and IBExpress fleet are horrendous. But IBExpress (and Vueling has even more, specially their A321 feel rather comfy) has a few planes with the new slim seats. I’m only saying it’s more comfy than the previous configuration.
        FYI, the worst of the worst are the economy seats (legroom) on the Vueling and IB A319. They are horrendous.

        • Mike says:
          2 Jan2 January 19:03

          I can assure you guys that the SL3510 which are used now on refitted TAP A319/320 is a disaster. No lumbar support, no legroom, and those small tiny little armrest are totally useless, too small, to short, too low..they just obstruct instead of helping to rest. I think it is the worst product Recaro introduced in last years..

  • Chelseafi says:
    2 Jan2 January 17:04

    O/T I need lounge access for 4 of us, looking to upgrade to Amex Platinum and get sup card for O/H, will that get all 4 in or will we both need our own Plat account? Thanks

    • Genghis says:
      2 Jan2 January 17:10

      Good plan. The Plat comes with one free Plat supp who also gets a priority pass. PP gives one free guest so 2 x PP cards = 4 people.

      • Chelseafi says:
        2 Jan2 January 17:29

        Great thanks, thought that was case and just planning my cards & spend for next few months

  • Canuck says:
    2 Jan2 January 17:15

    I tried these seats twice; once on Iberia Express PMI->MAD… they were so tightly packed and was not enjoyable at all. Second was a AirBerlin on AGP->PMI and I found the seats excellent.

    Bottom line, I suppose it comes down to the airline’s choice of configuration, rather than the seats themselves. The AirBerlin setup made the seats feel spacious given their slim design.

  • Prins Polo says:
    2 Jan2 January 17:48

    Depressing news from señor Cruz again.

  • John Baldo says:
    2 Jan2 January 18:29

    Not all bad, Holiday Inn Aktau, Kazakhstan reduced from 20,000 to 15,000, as it HI Preston UK…

  • Robin says:
    2 Jan2 January 19:42

    I enjoyed the ploughmans lunch so much on the way out that I requested the same on the way back last week. Mind you, the alternative finger sandwich option looked meagre

  • Gareth says:
    2 Jan2 January 20:21

    Ihg related does anyone have a recommendation for New York ihg redemption before these increases, first time so near tourists spots are fine
    Thanks in advance

    • Allan says:
      2 Jan2 January 20:38

      Not stayed yet but Even Times Square South has good rates and seems to rank highly on TripAdvisor.

    • Rob says:
      2 Jan2 January 20:55

      We have reviewed the two IC’s on here, both have ‘issues’ but are fundamentally decent hotels albeit with very few facilities. If you en famille there are other options like Staybridge Suites properties.

      Conrad New York, if you have Hilton points, remains my preferred choice as a) it is high quality and b) it is ‘all suite’. You need to be happy with the Wall Street / Battery Park / World Trade Centre location though.

      • Gareth says:
        2 Jan2 January 21:13

        Thanks, not enough Hilton points unfortunately- will check out the reviews again – remember reading them originally!

  • NICK says:
    2 Jan2 January 21:15

    Heathrow passenger service charge is actually £44.91 if you go further in Europe (eg Istanbul) or long haul. I travel loads with my wife and 2 kids (for fun, not work) and paying £180 just to walk through the shopping mall AKA Heathrow is nothing but a joke. Add in UK APD…. no thanks!

    If I’m paying for seats rather than burning miles, to be honest I’d prefer just to jump on Ryanair, Wizzair or Easyjet.

    A few months ago we did Luton-Tel Aviv, stopping in Varna. Both flights on Wizzair and booked separately for a total of £42 each… Less than the LHR passenger service charge itself 🙂
    I find Wizz to have cheaper buy on board than BA, new aircraft and polite crew. There’s no competition as far as I’m concerned. Though I did like the free fizz last week in 25D on BA… Thanks for the tip off 🙂

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