Air New Zealand says it’s bringing more space to Economy with a new design unveiled at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.
The new seats will be introduced on the carrier’s Airbus A320/A321neo fleet and will feature a slim-line design and wider seats.
The window and aisle seats will be one centimetre wider than those on the airline’s current international Airbus fleet, with the middle seat three centimetres wider ensuring a better sense of personal space across the row.
The design also features a new seat cover developed in conjunction with New Zealand company Flight Interiors which customer testing has demonstrated delivers superior comfort levels for longer.
Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Experience Anita Hawthorne said the design of the new seat was customer-led with the airline and Acro keen to address key areas of customer feedback and further improve the inflight experience.
“The slightly wider middle seat helps balance out the fact that window and aisle seat customers enjoy a greater sense of space.”
Anita Hawthorne, Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Experience
“We currently have many customers who state a preference for window or aisle seats and it’s possible the new design may see the middle seat get a boost in popularity.
“We have a long history of innovating and of thinking outside the box for solutions so we were fortunate to work alongside a like-minded partner such as Acro.
“We believe what we’ve co-designed is not only practical from an operational perspective but importantly a more comfortable and spacious experience for our customers.”
Acro Chief Executive Officer Chris Brady said the seat attracted plenty of attention at the Aircraft Interiors Expo when it was unveiled.
“To reveal the new seat at this event, which showcases all the very latest innovations, technologies and products for cabin interiors was hugely exciting and piqued a lot of interest in the new product from other airlines and the wider industry alike,” Mr Brady said.
Air New Zealand has 13 Airbus A320neo aircraft on order to replace its current A320 fleet. The airline will receive a combination of A320neo and A321neo.