How SIA’s new first-class seats are customised, down to the last stitch

SINGAPORE –Every stitch and seam of the upholstery on each new Singapore Airlines (SIA) first-class seat is hand-sewn by nine senior machinists, who work meticulously amid the rhythmic whirring of hundreds of machines in a basement.

The entire process takes place at aircraft seat manufacturer Sabeti Wain Aerospace’s facility in High Wycombe, United Kingdom – a market town an hour’s drive from central London.

Workers inspect every inch of high-quality leather hides, before manually cutting and carefully stitching seven surfaces for each seat.

There is little margin for error. 

Cutting and stitching are the most complex steps, as leather cannot be unstitched or reworked if a mistake occurs, said the company’s director Paymen Sabeti, who spoke to reporters at the facility in September 2025.

A single error could mean that the entire hide would go to waste.

The covers for all the surfaces of each seat take at least two full days to be completed, said Sabeti.

The new SIA first-class seat, revealed on Nov 6, is upholstered in premium full-grain leather – sourced from the top layer of the hide – from luxury Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau.

A worker starts with spraying glue on the leather seat cover.

ST PHOTOS: BENJAMIN SEETOR

The materials such as foam, fabric and leather cover are then laid out on top of one another.

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Another worker prepares to laminate, or stick, the layers together, using a hot press machine which bonds the glue.

ST PHOTOS: BENJAMIN SEETOR

Additionally, for the first time, passengers will be able to dine in groups of two to four while facing one another using foldable tables and electronically controlled ottomans that double as dining seats.

SIA is rolling out these new seats on its seven existing Airbus A350-900 ultra-long-range (ULR) jets and on its 31 upcoming Boeing 777-9 jets.

Four first-class seats will be fitted onto each Airbus A350-900 ULR jet, while six will feature on each new Boeing 777-9 plane.

Each seat has a pitch – or distance between a seat and the one directly in front – of 89.5 inches, measures 30 inches wide with armrests down and 80 inches long when fully reclined into a bed.

The seats in the central section can also be synchronised to move together, adjusting into a plush two-seater sofa or a queen-size bed measuring 60 by 80 inches – the largest in commercial aviation to date.

In comparison, SIA’s first-class seats on its existing Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have an 81-inch pitch, measure 35 inches wide, and extend to 82 inches when reclined into a bed.

What transformed these engineering masterpieces into personal sanctuaries is the surface upholstery and the furnishings that really bring them to life. And the artisans that Sabeti has, with their craftsmanship, they have brought every stitch, every seam, every surface that our customers touch to life.

Ong Wah Li, Vice-president for product experience at SIA

Each new first-class seat has a curved layout designed by industrial consultancy PriestmanGoode to increase personal space.

Moving away from the standard square cubicles in the market, it used curved aisles to create a more welcoming feel and a staggered seating arrangement to free up extra space, PriestmanGoode director Ben Rowan said in September 2025.

There are several stowage spaces tucked inside the seating area, including one right next to the seat, another under the ottoman and a personal wardrobe by the door.

ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR

The batik motif is engraved on the interior walls of the seat.

ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR

Passengers can move within the enclosed area of their seats, even when the beds are fully flat, he added.

An aisle-facing cocktail table also allows cabin crew to serve drinks with minimal disruption.

Rowan was speaking to the media during a visit to seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States.

SIA conducted focus-group sessions with 80 passengers who frequently flew first class, and one-on-one interviews with 11 customers.

The airline also approached 14 passengers to do in-flight journaling – which involved logging their feelings and thoughts about the flights they were on – and visited 24 passengers’ homes to understand how they created pockets of comfort in their personal spaces, said Ong.

SIA later invited 30 of these passengers to test the seat mock-ups while the designs were still being refined, and interviewed 10 staff members to tap their expertise on how seats are used.

Ong said one key takeaway from the passengers was the desire for more privacy.

High walls and double sliding doors already feature in other first-class seats that entered the market earlier, such as Japan Airlines’ private suites launched on its Airbus A350-900 jets since 2019 and Airbus A350-1000 jets from 2024.

On the timing of the revamp, Ong said SIA wanted to develop a new seat in time for the delivery of the Boeing 777-9 jets. That is likely to be in 2027 at the earliest.

While planning began in 2018, work was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the lull, the airline revisited and refined design concepts, testing them again with passengers to see if their preferences had changed, she said.

Rowan’s team went through multiple design iterations, from the initial sketch models to 3D block models and actual mock-ups of the seats.

The toughest part of the design process, he said, was ensuring comfort in both the seated and horizontal configurations.

Collins Aerospace, tasked with translating blueprints into actual seats, refined the designs to suit passenger ergonomics.

Ryan Hudson, president of interiors at Collins Aerospace, said production of the seats is very manual because the bespoke designs require precision, which automation cannot offer.

The installation of electric wiring for the seat.

A worker assembling seat components.

ST PHOTOS: BENJAMIN SEETOR

For some passengers who prefer tactile buttons, Collins Aerospace also integrated a suite control unit with physical buttons on one of the cocktail tray tables within the seat.

These buttons allow passengers to toggle between different seat incline levels and footrest angles, adjust the intensity of reading lights, switch on “do not disturb” mode, or get the cabin crew’s attention.

A separate touch panel at the side of the seat displays real-time flight information, such as remaining flight time, destination weather, Wi-Fi status and toilet availability.

Collins Aerospace associate director of programme management Dennis Brechko said careful thought was given to every surface, latch, door and button that passengers interact with.

For example, the dining table under the in-flight entertainment screen is released with a button and slides down a short ramp, allowing passengers to pull it towards them easily.

The ramp ensures the table remains stable in position. Its lightweight build also allows cabin crew to pull it out with one hand while balancing a meal tray in the other.

After upholstery is finished, assembling and inspecting each seat takes four to eight weeks and a team of 15 to 25 people at Collins Aerospace.

On keeping up with emerging technologies, Ong said SIA will try to future-proof the new first-class seats as far as possible, and incorporate possible improvements down the road.

Asked how the new first-class seats compare with rivals, SIA’s chief commercial officer Lee Lik Hsin said: “What do you do at home when you wake up? You turn and you put your foot down at the side of the bed.

You can now do that in our new first class, whereas, previously, beds were right next to the door or next to the side of the enclosed space.”

SIA also incorporated feedback from people travelling together who want to stay close during flights.

“You can see this come out in the way we have designed the seats,” Lee added.

ST Photos and videos: Benjamin Seetor and Singapore Airlines