Air New Zealand delays introduction of new business class until 2025

Air New Zealand’s long-awaited new business class won’t arrive until next year as the New Zealand carrier is forced to postpone its Boeing 787 upgrade programme.

The first of 14 refurbished Dreamliners was originally scheduled to arrive in Auckland in October, but the programme is running “slightly later than originally planned due to global parts supply chain challenges”, according to Baden Smith, head of fleet strategy and delivery at Air New Zealand.

“The first of our 787-9s will fly to Singapore for retrofit in mid-October,” Smith confirmed. Travelers in management positions.

“We are excited to launch this program and will be conducting a series of reviews and training sessions with the team to get the program up and running next year.”

And while the 787 is AirNZ’s flagship aircraft offering Business Premier suites, it won’t necessarily serve a non-stop route from Auckland to New York.

“Our upgrade aircraft can fly any long-haul or short-haul route (wherever we currently fly the 787),” an Air New Zealand spokesman said Travelers in management positions earlier this year.

“The new aircraft will be more efficient on our ultra-long-haul routes, such as Chicago and New York. However, by the time they arrive, there is a possibility that our upgrade aircraft will also serve those routes.”

And we don’t expect to see brand new Dreamliners until “the end of calendar year 2025,” AirNZ CEO Greg Foran noted in late August as he presented the airline’s financial results for the 2023-24 financial year.

The new 787 aircraft – designed specifically for ultra-long-range flights and originally scheduled for September 2024 – will feature 42 Business Premier Class seats in two cabins, with the first row of each of the two cabins containing four Business Premier Luxe suites (eight suites in total).

Also making its debut will be six innovative Skynest bunk beds, which Economy Class passengers will be able to book as a full-size, flat bed for four hours.

By comparison, the upgraded 787 aircraft will have a smaller business class cabin with just 22 seats (including four Luxe Suites) and will not be equipped with Skynest baby beds.

Luxury upgrade it

The modern version of the Star Alliance plane’s business class will replace the current 20-year-old “sleeper cabins” with narrow spaces and a steep slope, so many passengers will sit facing each other like passengers on a bus.

To the relief and delight of all Business Class passengers, the new Business Premier seats feature a more conventional layout that moves the cabin from an open-air space to a more private one.

Business Class seats, located on either side of the 787, will be tilted slightly inward but still close enough to the window to enjoy the view.

For added privacy, there are sliding privacy panels – though they’re not full doors – as well as amenities like a storage cabinet and makeup mirror, a spacious side shelf, wireless device charging and a large 24-inch video screen with Bluetooth audio streaming to wireless headphones or earbuds.

The first row of each Business Class cabin will feature four larger Business Premier Luxe Suites. AirNZ’s response to the ‘business plus’ trend is to offer more space, comfort and amenities to those who can afford to spend a little more on a Business Class ticket.

The Business Premier Luxe suites can be separated by two sliding partitions, and a seat for a companion allows a Business Class passenger to share a meal, a glass of wine or a game of cards.

In addition to “soft product” improvements such as the merino wool blanket, Air New Zealand reports, Travelers in management positions There will be no changes to the food and beverage offering, with Business Premier Luxe passengers enjoying the same ‘Aotearoa on a Plate’ dining concept featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

The airline says it considered options for the Luxe Suites, such as “a personal dressing room or minibar, but the majority of feedback we received was ‘just give us more space.’”

The question remains how much passengers will have to pay for this extra space.