British Airways to lower fare by adding 52 seats on Boeing 777 flights beginning 2018

British Airways (BA) plans to lower its fare, however, it would added 52 seats on its Boeing 777 flights. To do that, the economy seats in each row would be increased to 10 seats from the current nine within the same space.

The changes would be in 2018, The Telegraph reports. With the addition of more seats, it means the 11 toilets would be shared for every 30 economy fare passengers of British Airways from the current 25 travelers.

BA says the addition of more seats on Boeing 777 flights originating from Gatwick Airport would make it more competitive as rivals, such as Emirates and Air New Zealand, which had already added the extra 52 seats on its Boeing 777 aircraft, Dailymail reports. Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, the parent company of BA, announced the changes at an investors’ event, according to The Independent.

But it is not just seats that BA would add. The air carrier would also use new entertainment systems with bigger screens. It would also launch Wi-Fi on short flights beginning next summer.

Although BA says the extra seats would result in lower fares, the company has not announced by how much would the change cut fares. However, the promise of lower cost of plane tickets would make BA a better value offer compared to Ryanair and easyJet which have been taking a larger slice of the British air passenger market.

Walsh says the changes are in response to a market opportunity. BA would also add 12 more seats on its short-haul Airbus A320 jets from Heathrow, matching easyJet’s configuration. Walsh adds BA would continue to offer passengers a generous hand baggage allowance and complimentary food and drinks on all its long-haul trips.