Revealed: Air New Zealand’s New Business Class Seat.

Since a few years ago, we’ve been told that Air New Zealand was working to develop a new business class seating option, even though Air New Zealand has made little public information. We finally have an idea of what we can expect because of an announcement from the airline, which was initially reported by taxes. Aero.

Air New Zealand’s brand new Business Premier seats

There’s a lot to consider when designing a new seat. In addition, Air New Zealand has just submitted a request to the United States Department of Transportation concerning its new headquarters. In particular, the airline wants approval for the accessibility features of its new seats before installing the seats. This filing is interesting because it includes all sorts of (low resolution) images of the seats. This means we have a better idea of what we can expect.

Here’s an outline of the seats in Air New Zealand’s brand-new Business class cabin aboard the Boeing 787, with 42 seats in the 1-2-1 configuration.

According to the filing, seats will measure 20.5 inches wide and turn into 80.25 flatbeds the application. In addition, the seat’s pitch is expected to have a 45-degree angle, and each center will be aligned at a 24 ° angle to the plane’s fuselage. There is no indication that the seats in business class will have doors.

I’m confused because it appears to me that Air New Zealand has selected herringbone seats (meaning that all seats are facing away from windows and in the direction of the aisles). This is an enigmatic selection.

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier seat

Based on the information we have so far, I cannot figure out which seat maker Air New Zealand will be employing. Could this be an altered Adient Ascent seat, similar to Qatar Airways’ new 787-9 business class, or is it something else Hawaiian Airlines will introduce on its 787-9s? It’s my best bet…

Air New Zealand’s brand new Business Premier Luxe seats

This is a different angle. We’ve heard for a while that Air New Zealand plans to introduce a “premium” business class in the first row of the cabin because frequent flyers have been asked about a possible name for this to 2020.

This is happening, and there are going to be four Business Premier Luxe seats located in the front row of the cabin. They will have a 1-1 arrangement with a larger space. According to the filing application, the first row of seats will be more spacious and a door and an ottoman larger.

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier Luxe seat

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier Luxe seat

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier Luxe seat

There’s no confirmation yet on the pricing structure in this. Is there a particular ticket class for the seats? Or will there be a constant upcharge to pick Business Premier Luxe, regardless of the method you use to book your tickets?

Air New Zealand has Boeing 787-10s on order

The date is when Air New Zealand install its new business class?

Air New Zealand is requesting approval for accessibility features of the seats by the end of April 2024. It seems like we can anticipate seats being installed on planes within the next few months, according to that timeframe.

The application focuses explicitly on Boeing 787-9s. It is possible that Air New Zealand’s goal is first to reconfigure its existing aircraft to accommodate these seats. Air New Zealand has a fleet of 14 Boeing 787-9s, so who knows, perhaps it is not out of the realm of possibility for the brand new seats might be available at the beginning of September 2024 in Auckland for New York flights.

Air New Zealand also has eight Boeing 787-10s available for purchase and due for delivery beginning in 2024. I’d imagine that the planes will receive new seats, although they’ll not be used on an ultra-long-haul flight (as the 787-10 is less able than those on the 787-9).

My thoughts about Air New Zealand’s brand new business class

Air New Zealand desperately needs an upgrade to its business class offering. The airline currently has an existing herringbone standard product in business class in the configuration of 1-1-1, which was first introduced in 2005. This was a fantastic product 15 years ago and, as of now, is no longer relevant.

In the end, I’m not impressed with what I’ve read thus far about Air New Zealand’s business class. We’ve seen a few small images with the prototype so far, So I think the cabin’s interiors will be more appealing in real life. Possibly, higher-quality images will show more options.

Some thoughts:

• Air New Zealand plans to increase its capacity to premium passengers dramatically. The current 787-9s have up to 27 seats in business class, and shortly, Air New Zealand intends to add 42 seats in business class.
• I’m confused about Air New Zealand’s decision to offer herringbone seating (meaning that all passengers will be facing the aisle) while reverse herringbone seats are more popular with customers.
• I’m surprised to learn that Air New Zealand won’t be adding doors to the business class seat unless for the row in which the doors are located.

While I think Air New Zealand’s latest business class offering is improved, it’s certainly not an outstanding product, given that it’s only beginning to roll into 2024 by the beginning of the year.

Bottom line

Air New Zealand is inching closer to launching its new business class service. In its regulatory filings, the airline has provided the details of its business class, which may launch on selected Boeing 787-9s by the beginning of this year.

With this new service, Air New Zealand will substantially increase premium capacity as we can anticipate 42 seats in business class per aircraft instead of the currently available 18-27 seats in business class.

Based on the information we’ve gathered from the beginning, Air New Zealand’s brand business class is expected to consist of herringbone seats, in the initial row seats featuring seats designated to be Business Premier Luxe. The four seats in the Business Premier Luxe row are likely to have doors.

Likely, Air New Zealand won’t be transforming with these new cabins. However, it will still be an improvement.