Why are first -class countries holding new planes

Hot or cooled places. TV screens with ultra -high definition. Benches. Convertible beds. Access to all-aisle. And of course, the coveted door of intimacy.

The increasingly luxurious first -grade and business cabins that have hundreds of parts and require regulator approval are the latest holding as new planes arrive late for customers, according to the heads of the largest plane manufacturers in the world.

Boeing There are 787 dreamliners, a twin-aisle aircraft used in some of the longest flights in the world, on the ground at its South Carolina factory “held for distribution for places, which undoubtedly go too late in the mounting process,” Ceo Kelly Ortberg said at a Barclays industry conference on February 20th.

Part of the problem is the rush of airlines to win high-paying customers by providing comfort and more small on board space if some extra inches.

“It is certifying the places, and it is not really the part of the butt of the seat,” Orthberg continued. “Cabinet and doors … for the first grade and the business class. These are very complex systems, and receiving those certified has received both seat suppliers and longer than expected.”

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

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

Together companies make up the bulk of the trading plane market.

Aircraft surrender are essential for manufacturer’s income because customers pay bulk of a jetliner’s price when they receive the plane than when ordering it for the first time.

Airlines and airspace manufacturers are highly regulated, and new models of countries, some features and even cabin appearances must acquire approval from regulators before going to the sky. Passengers should also be able to come out of those places in the event of an emergency.

Some new aircraft cabins are still awaiting certification, and delays are adding years of supply chain strains and lack of work coming out of the pandemia.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has rested hundreds of federal aviation administration workers in a cost decline. The agency said positions are not “critical security”, but did not say whether staff issues could further slow planes or other certificates.

Getting the best places installed on the front of the cabin means millions of revenue for airlines. For example, Delta Air Lines On Friday it was selling a standard round travel economy between New York and Paris during the first week of May $ 816. Switch to Delta One, high -level carrier headquarters and the same route is dropped to $ 5,508.

Longer strings of new planes compared to older models are opening new roads without stopping for carriers.

“No one is happy now,” for the delays, said Henry Hardeldt, the founder of the travel counseling firm research group. “They are unable to insert their new show ponies.”

A business class site can have about 1,500 parts, and weight is essential, especially for an industry that has taken great pain to remove the weight of the fuel cost on board. This includes the use of thinner paper for insurance return magazines in easier cutlery.

Germany’s Recaro, a large manufacturer of plane seats, says its R7 business classroom weighs about 80 pounds, or about 176 pounds.

“You are trying to do everything as light as possible and also have a pleasant aesthetic value,” Harteveld said.

Switzerland’s Flag Carrier, Switzerland, said the gravity center moved to some of its aircraft after testing its new seat models, so it has to make changes to the design and is watching a “weight dish” before new places can fly commercially.

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

New business class sites cost in low six -digit pieces, which is “compared to the price of the luxury car”, according to Recaro.

For airline drivers they are worth it. They say that clients, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, have shown that they are willing to pay to sit at the front of the cabin.

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

CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC in January that the tendency to the Premium travel is likely to continue.

Airlines working to light the front of their planes include the globe: Qantas, Delta, Delta, American, Australia, Sweatshirt and others. The new Lufthansa 787 Boeing 787 booths are held in the certification, said a spokesman.

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

American Airlines, for her part, has been waiting for months to debut in a new place for his broad-body planes and just gained approval for those in Dreamliner 787-9. One spokeswoman said the airline is working with regulators and that it plans to introduce new suite to its Airbus A321XLR, a long-range version of a major airbus plane, and re-qualified Boeing 777-300er later this year. She discovered the seats in September 2022 and initially planned to debut them last year.

“The biggest thing I can say on all those fronts is that we are dependent on the supply chain. Now, that chain of supply, especially in terms of places, is very narrow,” Ceo Robert Isom said in a profit call in October. He said the company’s message to suppliers and partners is: “” Work with us to make sure we get them – that device – in the dock as expected, “and we are really trying to make sure this is the case now.”