Air New Zealand to revamp business class in Boeing 777s and 787s

Air New Zealand recently announced it is mulling to revamp premium cabins on its long-haul aircrafts. The airline would be spending more than $73 million to upgrade its business class cabins along with the premium economy as well on its Boeing 777-300 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts. The airline will be undertaking the revamp exercise to cope up with the growing passenger demand for premium travel.

The airline is scheduled to take delivery of its three Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts starting from October 2017. The new aircrafts would be featuring a new layout. A spokesperson of Air New Zealand said that the Business Premier seats would be increased to 27 from the existing 18. The seats in Premium Economy cabin would also be increased from 21 to 33.

Media reports said that all seven Boeing 777-300 aircrafts of Air New Zealand would be refurbished from February 2017. The newly revamped aircrafts would be equipped with the new state-of-the-art Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment systems, which can already be found on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts.

According to the reports, the upgraded aircrafts would be fitted with new seats in Business Premier and Economy Class cabins. Apart from these, there would be new leather seats in Premium Economy cabins as well. The new seats would be replacing the existing Boeing 777 Spaceseats. Moreover, the number of seats in Premium Economy cabins on these aircrafts would be increased to 54 from the existing 44. The upgrade program of the Boeing 777-300 aircrafts is likely to be concluded by late November 2017. The airline is also planning to retire its remaining Boeing 767-300 aircrafts after the delivery of its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners next year.

Carrie Hurihanganui, Air New Zealand’s General Manager of Customer Experience, said, “The launch of the Spaceseat by Air New Zealand in 2010 was indeed a revolutionary move and undoubtedly the best option available in the commercial aviation industry during that time. The airline also won many international awards because of this. However, over the years the materials and seating technology have been significantly improved. The newest Premium Economy offering also show the higher satisfaction scores of customers. Moving forward, the airline fully acknowledges that there is further scope for evolution in this space, and therefore the new upgrades are being implemented now.”