British Airways shamed as shock study finds even North Korean airline offers more legroom | World | News

Luxury is hardly the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about life in North Korea. The country’s rigid “Songbun” caste system dictates everything from social standing to food rations, with those deemed part of the “hostile class” (roughly 20%) often facing a lifetime of hardship, including being forced to undertake high-risk manual labour in farms or mines.

Yet in a surprising twist, one small comfort appears to outshine the West – airline legroom. A new analysis has revealed that Air Koryo – the state-run carrier of Kim Jong-Un’s regime – offers more legroom than many leading Western airlines, including British Airways. Passengers on Air Koryo can also recline their seats further by several degrees more than on a BA flight.

According to the study, British Airways provides an average seat pitch of 31 inches on long-haul economy flights. By comparison, Air Koryo offers slightly more generous spacing at 32 inches. Nigeria’s national airline, Air Peace, goes even further, with up to 33 inches of legroom.

Passengers on Air Koryo can also recline their seats further – up to five degrees, compared with 3.8 degrees on BA. However, British Airways retains a marginal edge in seat width, measuring 17.1 inches compared to Air Koryo’s 17 inches.

Air Koryo, which is state-owned and controlled by North Korea’s air force, operates limited international routes from Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport to cities such as Beijing, Shenyang and Vladivostok. It also serves government purposes, with one aircraft reportedly used as Kim Jong-un’s personal plane. The fleet primarily consists of Russian-built Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft.

While the differences in comfort may seem minor, critics say they highlight a broader decline in British Airways’ offering. Facing fierce competition from low-cost carriers, BA has introduced cost-cutting measures in recent years, including increasing seat density and replacing complimentary short-haul meals with paid options.

Frequent flyer Fred Finn, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most air miles flown, said the airline is “not quite what it used to be”, despite remaining a long-time customer.

British Airways, however, insists it is investing heavily in improvements. A BA spokesperson said: “We’ve invested in new seats, cabins, lounges and we’ll soon launch a new First seat and BA app. In April we became the first UK airline to offer free Starlink Wi-Fi onboard, which we are continuing to rollout to nearly 300 aircraft.”