Airline's plan to introduce 'poor doors' boarding divides opinion

British Airways has caused a stir after announcing its new "pay least, board last" policy that will force passengers with the cheapest tickets to wait until last.

From December 12, each passenger will be assigned a number between one and five at check-in based on how much they paid for their seats.

The first group will consist of gold members and first-class flyers, the second will be silver members and the third bronze.

All economy passengers will fall into group four, and number five will be made up of those who chose the cheapest fares with hand luggage, The Telegraph reported.

Following Friday's announcement, people on social media were divided with many suggesting this was already how airline boarding works.

"I thought airlines have always done this? If people are prepared to pay way more for a seat that is essentially the same that's on them," one woman tweeted.

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But others dubbed the policy "poor doors" and said if the airline wished to speed up boarding, they should divide it by row numbers.

"This idea of boarding people by their ability to pay is unfair. It should be done by rows if you wish to board more quickly," one customer wrote.

Another said: "Oh dear #BritishAirways clearly you haven't noticed it's 2017 not 1917. Crazy as by rows is clearly far more efficient."

Others questioned which group passengers would fall into if they purchased tickets with frequent flyer points.

A spokesperson for the airline said the method aims to "improve the airport experience for our customers."

"This method has been used by airlines around the world for a number of years, including by our partners American Airlines, Iberia and Qatar," a British Airways spokesperson said.