British Airways (BA) will start charging passengers up to £60 to reserve a seat as part of the airline's plans to cut costs and increase revenues.

From next month, the loss-making airline will charge £10 one way for economy passengers travelling in the UK and Europe to pre-select their seat. This will rise to £20 for economy long-haul flights.

This means that a family of four who want to guarantee they will sit together will have to pay an additional £160 return.

Business-class passengers who want to select their seat will have to pay £60 one way.

The charge for booking an exit-row seat, which are valued for their extra leg room, will be £50 one way.

BA's decision to charge for reserving a seat has sparked controversy because the service is more commonly used by budget carriers to increase revenues. Other international carriers such as Air France and Lufthansa will continue to allow passengers to pick their seats for free, although a number of American carriers have already adopted the idea.

BA lost £401 million last year and is looking for ways to boost its revenues and cut costs. It has already removed meals in European economy and the second meal on a business-class long-haul flight will be downgraded to a snack.

Bob Atkinson, of travelsupermarket.com, said: "This is another way for BA to drive up its revenues but it is all additional cost for the passenger. The line between the budget carriers and the full-service carriers has been blurred a little more. It's a bad day for travellers and the cost of flying has just gone up again."

BA passengers with gold loyalty cards will be able to pre-book any seat at no extra cost while silver card holders will only pay for exit row seats. All passengers will be able to select their seats when they check-in online, which can be done within 24 hours of departure.

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