British Airways passengers will be squeezed into narrower seats, after the beleaguered airline said it will add an extra passenger space into economy rows on some aircraft.

This week the company unveiled its ‘make-over’ for World Traveller section on its Boeing 777 long haul fleet flying from Gatwick Airport.

But although BA announced ‘elegant new seats’ with entertainment screens that are 50 per cent larger, they failed to mention that economy passengers will be sitting in spaces that are nearly 10 per cent smaller.

The World Traveller section will now contain 10 seats per row, instead of nine, moving from a 3-3-3 formation to a 3-4-3 design, which according to industry experts, will bring the size of long haul seats down by 1.5 inches.