Sliding doors in premium cabins stall deliveries and cut airline revenue
Airlines' new business-class seats with sliding doors are facing certification hold-ups, leaving some aircraft with unusable or open doors and costing carriers millions.
The surge in premium travel has prompted carriers to install sophisticated business-class suites, many featuring sliding doors for added privacy. Regulators, however, are insisting on thorough evacuation testing, causing the FAA and EASA to postpone certification. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, KLM and others have reported planes flying with doors locked open or seats blocked from use, reducing revenue potential.
Boeing and Airbus acknowledge that the delays are slowing the hand-over of completed aircraft, even as they explore catalog-based, pre-certified seat options. Industry executives such as Kelly Ortberg, Guillaume Faury, Sascha Manitz and Justin Hale note that while progress is being made, the backlog of seat approvals remains a bottleneck for the cabin-upgrade market.
Why it matters
Certification delays keep valuable business seats out of service, hurting airline profits and passenger experience.
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