swh,
Back to name calling... Nice!!!
The whole article is about the difference between the 700 and the 7000, not the 7000 and the 7000???
You are the one who is dishonest. They are talking about increased weight. 3500 pounds is almost 1.59 tonnes. Assuming there are in fact 2 engines, that's over 3 tonnes. The wing is not just swapping winglets for the new style A350 winglets. They are extending the wing over 3 meters. Are you telling me that does not gain weight? Are you also telling me that a heavier wing with heavier engines and wingtip does not require additional strengthening. Of course it does. Whether this is part of an ongoing "improvement" process or not is irrelevant.
The bottom line is that the OEW is climbing from just under 125T to nearly 130T. While that may be a good tradeoff for long haul, it is most assuredly bad for shorthaul. It is far more (approximately 10T) than the similar sized 787 or A350.