British Airways Plan to Add ‘Pre-Reclining’ Seats Actually Makes Sense — Airline Innovation Report
Photo Credit: British Airways hasn't announced many changes to the A319 interior, pictured here. But it is making some big alternations to its A320 and A321 fleet. British Airways / Stuart Bailey
Skift Take
We all wish British Airways hadn't decided to shrink seat pitch. But once it did so, it was smart to go with so-called pre-reclined seats. When there's so little space between seats, passengers don't need another passenger reclining into them.
The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter focused on the business of airline innovation. We will look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports that are driving the next-generation aviation industry.
We also provide insights on developments in passenger experience, ancillary services, revenue management, loyalty, technology, marketing, airport innovation, the competitive landscape, startups, and changing passenger behavior. I write and curate the newsletter, and we send it on Wednesdays. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here.
On a continent where flyers expect many short-haul one-way flights to cost 20 or 30 euros ($24 to $36), if bought in advance, British Airways has a choice. It can ignore budget-conscious passengers and let them continue to defect to Ryanair or EasyJet, or it can lower its costs to compete.
After more than a decade of ignoring them — perhaps hoping they'd go away — British Airwa
