Originally Posted by Aewanabe

Out of my element, you would think so, intuitively. That was a concern we raised with the company when the reconfiguration was announced. They assured us that in addition to the seats themselves being quite a bit lighter, that the system components for Live TV version 4 also save quite a bit of weight versus Live TV version 2 (which is in the current A320 seats/cabins).

A bit of napkin math shows how it might work, though:

For 150 seats we have 50 groups of 3 seats each installed in the cabin; for 162 the respective number will be 54. Let's say for argument's sake the current seating blocks weigh 120 lbs each including the LTV hardware, and that the new seating blocks weigh in at 90 lbs each. 50*120= 6000 lbs, whereas 54*90= 4860 lbs. We use a standard weight per passenger of 195 lbs as well. So, 35,250 lbs for passengers plus seats in the current configuration, versus 36,660 for the passengers, seats, and fourth flight attendant in the reconfigured jets.

Assuming my guesstimate on the seat weight is right (and I know it's close, but don't have the figures readily available), that equals a difference of 1410 pounds for the revenue potential of 12 extra customers per flight. If none of the extra seats are sold the difference actually changes to the aircraft being lighter than before the reconfiguration. That is before any changes to other cabin fittings are made, or sharklets are added to the equation. (We have received mixed messages about whether sharklets are going to be added concurrently with the cabin mods). The improvement in fuel burn on a transcon with a sharklet airplane is, coincidentally, nearly identical to my guesstimate of the weight difference if we actually fill the airplane with 162 customers.