An airline's first-class seats are too heavy. Its planes now need even more weight to fix it.

05.09.2024 - 00:51 / insider.com

Swiss International Air Lines has an unusual problem: Its new first-class seats are too heavy for some of its widebody planes.

Everything started in 2023 with the announcement of "Swiss Senses," an initiative that includes new premium and economy cabins for Swiss' future Airbus A350-900s and its current Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 777-300ERs.

The project largely mirrors Swiss partner Lufthansa's new Allegris product.

Installation of the new cabins won't start until late 2025 on the 14-strong fleet of dated A330s, but the airline told Business Insider the new seats make the plane too nose-heavy. To fix the problem, Swiss will even more weight to the plane in the form of a "balancing plate," a spokesperson said.

Swiss' A350s and 777s aren't affected.

The weight of the device is unknown, but Swiss said it will be determined "once the new cabin interior is installed, and appropriate precise measurements can be made."

The outcome of these hefty first-class seats is not ideal for Swiss or its customers. The added weight will increase fuel burn and could shorten the range of Swiss' A330s and reduce its cargo capacity, making the jets more expensive to fly.

To further save where it can, Swiss has also opted to remove the sliding doors from business class — a high-demand privacy perk that could make its premium cabin less competitive with other long-haul operators.

Plus, fewer customers will have access to first-class as Swiss slashes the capacity of its most expensive cabin from eight to three — one by each window and a double suite in the middle.

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The spokesperson said that Swiss will monitor other options but has already decided against installing more economy seats to maintain its "emphasis" on in-flight comfort. The airlines' A330 routes, which connect Switzerland to cities in the US, Canada, and the Middle East, are still operable with the added plate, they said.

According to the Swiss spokesperson, the imbalance was caused by "two contrasting trends" in passenger seat evolution.

Many modern economy cabins are getting slimmer, more lightweight seats as a way for airlines to improve operating costs and reduce carbon emissions. First and business-class seats, on the other hand, are getting heavier as carriers adopt more spacious suites with privacy doors.

Swiss is one of the few transatlantic airlines still offering international first-class travel. It operates alongside the likes of Lufthansa, Air France, and British Airways, but Swiss is the only major carrier offering a first-class cabin on all of its long-haul planes.

In fact, the carrier was named the best first-class airline in Europe at the 2024 World Travel Awards, while Skytrax ranked Swiss as the fourth-best first-class