Bryan Bedford Outlines The New Safety Challenges In Luxury Seats

Credit: United Airlines | Simple Flying

Bedford told several reporters in Charleston, South Carolina, this week that there has been an increase in newer seat designs, especially those for premium cabins, which have struggled to pass the human factor tests that are required to meet certification requirements. While Bedford acknowledged that manufacturers are working with the FAA, the administration must be involved earlier in the process to provide sufficient feedback and recommendations.

Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Ortberg, also commented about the challenges at the recent Bernstein Conference at the Hilton Midtown, New York, that the American planemaker continues to work with both the FAA and its European counterpart, EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), to understand and improve the current certification process. Ortberg’s comments below, as per Bloomberg:

“We have airplanes sitting for customers, completely done, waiting for seat certifications,” Ortberg told a Bernstein conference on Wednesday. “From a delivery perspective, we’ll be fighting seats throughout the year.”

Regulators Around The World Are Facing Similar Issues

Credit: Lufthansa

Certification delays are putting unexpected pressure on airlines, as regulators around the world grapple with the new seat designs, echoing Bedford’s comments that regulators must be brought in much earlier to provide sufficient feedback and recommendations during the design process.

Instead, what is currently happening is that the aircraft will be built or retrofitted with new cabin designs before the FAA or other regulators have had the opportunity to fully certify it. At this stage, a choke point occurs, as the regulators assess, and several new cabin designs are not passing the test.

Several notable carriers are currently facing these regulatory challenges, including Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Chicago’s United Airlines. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Lufthansa is also facing similar woes. More details on these airlines’ challenges are detailed in the next section of this article.

Delta, United, and Lufthansa’s Certification Challenges

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Delta continues to face challenges with its lie-flat product on the Airbus A321neo transcontinental subfleet. These issues are expected to delay the lie-flat business class seat until 2028. This has disrupted the airline’s ambitions for an upscale premium cabin for more than three years longer than was first expected.

United Airlines debuted its next-generation Polaris business class suites on newly delivered Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Instead of the sliding privacy doors, these will be locked in the open position, delaying one of the cabin’s most anticipated features. While passengers will be unable to enjoy the added privacy, there are other enhancements, including larger cabin screens, wireless charging, and other updated materials, which will make up for it in the meantime. American Airlines has also faced similar issues with its 787-9P aircraft, where a number of its Flagship suites have been secured open for similar reasons.

European airline Lufthansa has forced the German carrier to consider delayed delivery for several aircraft; instead, it has been rolling out its certifications in batches. Many of these initial issues have now been resolved, but in the beginning, the airline was forced to stop selling a certain number of seats in its premium cabins.