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Advocates call it a right, part and parcel of flying, and something they pay for when buying a ticket. Critics, no doubt tired of having the seat in front of them lurch back while they're mid-meal, call it an offense. Whatever you call it, reclining your airplane seat is controversial—so much so that Traveler editors have made it into a formal debate. Now, a major airline has said it will begin implementing seats that won't actually allow you to recline at all.
In a statement to Traveler, a British Airways spokesperson said that economy seats on its new fleet of 25 Airbus A320neos and ten A321neos, which are slated to enter service later this year, will be "pre-reclined at a comfortable angle, meaning that the customer will not have to recline the seat themselves." The flag carrier will also start to "remodify" its existing fleet of 62 A320s and 14 A321s based at London Heathrow, and the new slim-line seats will be rolled out over the next five years. (British Airways would not give any specifics as to this so-called comfortable angle, but has also said the seats will be at a "gentle recline.") The pre-reclined seats will only be on flights up to four hours (think Heathrow to Rome, Madrid, Paris, and more), which means you're still safe if you're flying economy on a long-haul flight—for now, at least.
The move is the latest from British Airways as it looks to compete with budget carriers like Ryanair, easyJet, and Norwegian: In January 2017, the airline did away with free booze and in-flight meals on short-haul flights, and it has said it's reviewing its policy of selling duty-free products—such as perfumes—on shorter hops. In response to criticism, British Airways says the move will allow them to "be more competitive" and "offer more low fares" to customers.
Up until now, Ryanair was the largest carrier to "lock" its seats into a static position, and it's expected that British Airways won't be the last. Given that the airline has long been an industry trend-setter—it was the first to roll out those now-ubiquitous lie-flat seats in business class, after all—don't be surprised to see this space-saving strategy adopted by other large carriers looking to muscle their way into the low-cost space. We're looking at you, basic economy.