It’s out with the old and in with the new over at Air New Zealand, as the carrier ditches its Spaceseats in favour of the more modern Premium Economy.
Around $100 million will be spent to remove the Spaceseats in the Boeing 777-300ERs, six years after they launched.
Air New Zealand’s General Manager of Customer Experience, Carrie Hurihanganui, explained that aviation has evolved since the Spaceseats were introduced and new research shows travelled want Premium Economy.
“Seating technology and materials have come a long way since then and our customer research now shows consistently higher satisfaction scores for our newest Premium Economy offering.”
Carrie Hurihanganui, Air New Zealand General Manager of Customer Experience
The $100 million will also be used towards completely refurbishing the Boeing 777-300s’ interiors to feature refreshed Business Premier and Economy seats.
The Boeing 777-300 refurbishment programme is expected to be completed by late November 2017.
Additionally, Air New Zealand is increasing the number of Business Premier seats on its Dreamliners from 18 to 27 and Premium Economy seats from 21 to 33.
“With these changes, we look forward to being able to offer our customers a consistent Premium Economy product across our long haul fleet and being able to welcome even more customers into our premium cabins with the expanded premium footprint on our Dreamliners,” Hurihanganui said.
“The reconfiguration of our Dreamliners and refurbishment of our 777-300s signal a clear commitment by the airline to continue to deliver the best onboard customer experience into the future.”