Singapore Airlines plans to add four-seat first-class cabins to Airbus planes used on its longest routes to attract high-spending travelers on flights lasting up to 17 hours.

The airline will install the new seats on seven Airbus A350-900 URLs (ultra-long-range aircraft), which are used for long-haul flights, including the longest flights between New York and Singapore. The company will also revamp the cabins of long-haul Airbus planes with new business-class seats, which may include suites with sliding doors, a design increasingly favored by airlines to offer privacy as an onboard perk.

Singapore Airlines said the new first- and business-class seats will come with new in-flight entertainment, but the airline did not reveal further details about the new cabins. They will “push the boundaries of comfort, luxury and modernity,” CEO Goh Choon Peng said in a press release.

Airlines have invested billions of dollars to revamp their premium cabins to attract travelers willing to pay for more space on board. These include international carriers such as Singapore’s jumbo jets, as well as smaller carriers such as JetBlue Airways flying smaller Airbus aircraft, both of which feature suites with sliding doors.

Singapore Airlines’ transformation plan also includes installing new cabins on 34 long-range Airbus A350 aircraft as part of its 1.1 billion Singapore dollar (about $835 million) transformation plan, which is scheduled to enter service in mid-2026. The aircraft will still have 42 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 192 standard economy seats, compared with the current configuration of 187 economy seats.

The ultra-long-range aircraft currently only have business and premium economy cabins. After the new cabin design with first class is installed, the total number of business class seats will increase from 67 to 70, and premium economy seats will increase from the current 94 to 58, according to the airline’s website.

Most U.S. airlines have eliminated long-haul first class or are in the process of doing so in favor of larger business-class cabins.

American is retrofitting some Boeing 777s to add a 70-seat business cabin instead of separating first and business class, and will upgrade business-class seats on 777s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners to have sliding doors. Supply chain issues have slowed some of the retrofits as demand for premium seats increases across the industry after the pandemic.

Some airlines, however, plan to keep first class on at least some routes. Lufthansa’s new first-class “suites” will debut on Nov. 9.
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