BA will fit non-reclining seats on new fleet of 35 Airbus A320neos and A321neos 

Move proved controversial amid criticism of increasingly budget-style service 

Airline removed free food and drink from economy class and reduced legroom 

British Airways has announced it is axing reclining seats on all short-haul flights by the end of the year as part of a move to slash costs.

BA will fit non-reclining seats on its new fleet of 35 Airbus A320neos and A321neos that will begin coming into service later this year.

The decision may prove controversial for BA amid criticism of its increasingly budget-style service and cost-cutting measures.

It recently removed free food and drink in economy class for short-haul flights and faced a computer meltdown that stranded 75,000 passengers over last year’s May bank holiday weekend.

And passengers may soon be forced to do their shopping solely in the airport as the airline is ‘reviewing’ selling duty-free products, such as perfumes, on short flights.

But some passengers are not convinced.

Marco Spiro, 25, a financial consultant from south London and a regular BA passenger, said: ‘Very little differentiates BA from easyJet and Ryanair.’

BA said: ‘As well as new long-haul aircraft, we have 35 brand new short-haul planes arriving over the next five years.

‘We’re also completely refurbishing the cabins of all of our existing A320 and A321 aircraft at Heathrow to improve quality and choice for our customers.

‘We are installing at-seat power throughout the aircraft and will soon offer on board WiFi.

‘The new aircraft will have brand new seats set to a gentle recline to ensure everyone in the cabin enjoys a comfortable journey.

These changes will also allow us to offer more low fares to customers.’

This follows the airlines’ decision to slash legroom and in-flight perks to rival the prices of its budget rivals – risking its elite status in the process.

The airline has been told its new business model, which has brought it much closer to traditionally cheaper brands such as Ryanair and easyJet, is damaging the company’s reputation.

BA is planning to reduce the gap between seats from 30 inches to 29 on some of its planes, less than Ryanair.

The move, which would make BA’s legroom the same as easyJet’s, will make space for an extra two rows of seats to carry 12 more fliers. Ryanair’s gap is 30 inches.

Flyebe, Norwegian and Wizz Air will now all have more legroom than BA.

The country’s flag carrier also struck a deal with the supermarket giant Marks & Spencer to charge passengers for food for the first time.

This angered loyal customers who are used to complimentary food and drink on all of its flights.

But BA has been warned that squeezing bigger profits risked removing one of the last differences between the airline and its no-frills rivals