Singapore Airlines is adding a first-class cabin on its longest flights

Singapore Airlines plans so as to add four-seat first-class planes to the Airbus planes it uses on its longest routes to draw big-spending travelers on flights that may last greater than 17 hours.

The airline will add the brand new seats to seven Airbus A350-900 URLs, ultra-long-haul aircraft it uses for longer flights, including its longest, between New York and Singapore. The company will even redesign its cabins on Airbus long-haul planes with latest business class seats, which is able to likely include a set with a sliding door – a well-liked design that airlines are increasingly adopting to sell privacy as an onboard profit.

Singapore announced that the brand new first and business class seats will feature latest in-flight entertainment, however the airline didn’t provide many details concerning the latest cabins. CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a press release that they may “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury and modernity.”

Airlines have invested billions of dollars in modernizing their premium cabins to draw travelers willing to spend money for more room on board. They range from international airlines like Singapore's jumbo jets to smaller airlines like JetBlue Airways which fly smaller Airbus aircraft, each of which have suites with sliding doors

Singapore's retrofit plans also include latest cabins for 34 long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft, a part of a 1.1 billion Singapore dollar (about $835 million) overhaul scheduled to enter service in mid-2026. These will proceed to have 42 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 192 in standard economy, up from the 187 economy seats currently listed because the aircraft configuration.

The ultra-long-haul aircraft now only have business class and premium economy cabins. Following the introduction of the brand new cabin design with First Class, the full variety of business class seats will increase from 67 to 70 and the airline will offer 58 premium economy seats from the present 94, based on the airline's website.

Most U.S. airlines have already eliminated long-haul first-class cabins or are within the means of doing so in favor of a bigger business class.

American Airlines is converting a few of its Boeing 777 aircraft to supply a 70-seat business class as a substitute of separate first and business class cabins, and can base its business class seats on 777 aircraft and Boeing 787 Dreamliners on designs with Upgrade sliding doors. Due to post-pandemic demand for premium seats across the industry, supply chain issues have slowed some retrofits.

However, some airlines plan to maintain firstclass on no less than some routes. German airline Lufthansa's latest firstclass suites will debut on November ninth.