Why first-class seats are holding up new airplanes

Heated or cooled seats. Ultra-high-definition TV screens. Benches. Convertible beds. All-aisle access. And of course, the coveted privacy door.

Ever-more luxurious first- and business-class cabins that have hundreds of parts and require regulator approval are the latest hold-up as new airplanes arrive late to customers, according to the heads of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers.

Boeing has 787 Dreamliners, a twin-aisle jetliner used on some of the world’s longest flights, on the ground at its South Carolina factory “that are held up for delivery for the seats, which obviously go in pretty late in the assembly process,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a Barclays industry conference on Feb. 20.

Part of the problem is airlines’ rush to win over high-paying customers by offering comforts and more of the scarce space on board — even if a few extra inches.

“It’s getting the seats certified, and it’s not actually the butt part of the seat,” Ortberg continued. “It’s the cabinet and the doors … for first class and business class. These are pretty complex systems, and getting those certified has taken both the seat suppliers and us longer than anticipated.”

Similar issues are hitting Boeing’s main rival Airbus, the CEO of the European manufacturer, Guillaume Faury, said on an earnings call the same day.

“We have delays in seats” as well as cabin “monuments” like galleys and closets that are “delaying the time at which we can deliver a plane fully completed,” Faury said.

Together the companies account for the vast majority of the commercial airplane market.

Aircraft deliveries are crucial for manufacturers’ revenue because customers pay the bulk of a jetliner’s price when they receive the plane, rather than when they first order it.

Airlines and aerospace manufacturers are highly regulated, and new seat designs, some features and even cabin layouts must win approval from regulators before taking to the skies. Passengers also need to be able to safely exit those seats in the case of an emergency.

Some new aircraft cabins are still awaiting certification, and delays are adding to years of supply chain strains and labor shortages coming out of the pandemic.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has fired hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration workers in a cost-cutting spree. The agency said the positions aren’t “safety critical,” but didn’t say whether staffing issues could further slow down aircraft or other certifications.

Getting the state-of-the-art seats installed at the front of the cabin means millions in revenue for airlines. For example, Delta Air Lines on Friday was selling a round-trip standard economy ticket between New York and Paris during the first week of May for $816. Move to Delta One, the carrier’s top-tier seat, and the same route jumps to $5,508.

New planes’ longer ranges compared with older models are opening up new nonstop routes for carriers.

“No one is happy right now,” about the delays, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. “They’re not able to get their new show ponies in.”

A business-class seat can have about 1,500 parts, and weight is key, especially for an industry that has taken great pains to remove fuel-costing weight on board. That includes using thinner paper for seatback magazines to lighter cutlery.

Germany’s Recaro, a major airplane seat manufacturer, says its R7 business class seat weighs about 80 kilograms, or around 176 pounds.

“You’re trying to make everything as light as you can and also have a pleasing aesthetic value,” said Harteveldt.

Switzerland’s flag carrier, Swiss, said the center of gravity shifted in some of its aircraft after testing out its new seat models, so it has to make design changes and is looking at a “weight plate” before the new seats can fly commercially.

Customers “clearly signal to us that it is time to modernize the cabin interiors of our long-haul fleet, especially the [Airbus] A330,” a spokesman for Swiss said in an email. “At the same time, we are working on solutions and observing trends and technologies that could allow us to achieve a different and more useful weight distribution.”

New business class seats cost in the low-six digits apiece, which “compares to the price of luxury car,” according to Recaro.

To airline executives they’re worth it. They say customers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, have shown they are willing to pay up to sit toward the front of the cabin.

Delta, for example, said in November that just 43% of its sales last year came from the main cabin, while 57% came from premium seats and its loyalty program. In 2010, 60% of revenue came from the main cabin.

CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC in January that the trend toward premium travel is likely to continue.

Airlines working to glow-up the front of their planes span the globe: Australia’s Qantas, Delta, American, JetBlue and others. Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabins on the Boeing 787s are held up in certification, a spokesman said.

Singapore Airlines said in November that it will bring first-class seats to its longest flights, more than 17 hours. CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a news release that the offerings will “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury, and modernity.”

American Airlines, for its part, has been waiting for months to debut a new seat for its wide-body planes and just won approval for those on its 787-9 Dreamliner. A spokeswoman said the airline is working with regulators and that it plans to introduce the new suites on its Airbus A321XLR, a long-range version of a key Airbus plane, and its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER later this year. It unveiled the seats in September 2022 and initially planned to debut them last year.

“The biggest thing I can say on all those fronts though is that we are dependent on the supply chain. Right now, that supply chain, especially in regard to seats, is very tight,” CEO Robert Isom said on an earnings call in October. He said the company’s message to suppliers and partners is: “‘Work with us to make sure that we get those — that equipment — on dock as expected,’ and we’re really pushing to make sure that that’s the case right now.”