In an era when airplanes are designed to be lighter to reduce fuel burn and emissions, Swiss International Air Lines is adding a ton and a half of lead plates to its A330s to keep its first-class passengers from making the plane go nose-down.
Economy seats are getting lighter and thinner, but at the same time the luxury end of the plane—business and first—are growing heavier with extra barriers, equipment to turn seats into beds and thick comfortable padding.
Swiss has been upgrading the premium cabins on its A330-300 planes with a design called Swiss Senses, similar to Lufthansa's new Allegris luxury seats. In the course of the upgrade it realized the weight problem.
The airline says it had to move ahead quickly with the project, and didn't have time to redesign the seats. A spokesperson said “Customers are telling us in no uncertain terms that it is time we modernized the cabin interiors of our long-haul aircraft, and especially our Airbus A330-300s.”
So, the company says, the lead weights, which it calls a 'compensatory device,' will be installed and stay in place “until other options can be developed to provide the balance required.”
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