Air New Zealand’s newly retrofitted B787 Dreamliner ups the ante in a big way for the kiwi carrier, and nowhere is this more evident than at the pointy end of the plane, Karryon’s Mark Harada finds out on a first look of the jet at NZ HQ at Auckland Airport.
If you think the Business Premier seat on board Air New Zealand’s freshly refitted B787 could be as good as it gets, wait until you get a load of NZ’s Business Premier Luxe seats – a new seat class for the airline and one that’s perfect if flying luxury isn’t luxury enough.
Most notably, the kiwi carrier’s latest Business Premier seat boasts increased privacy, enormous screens (the size TVs at home once were) and other features like extra storage space.
Business Premier Luxe, however, takes this up a notch.
Above all else, the new tier of flying, which is currently limited to just four lucky passengers on each refitted B787, features extra space and privacy. But it has one unique feature in NZ’s fleet.
“They have a fully enclosed door… the bed is a little bit longer and wider at the feet, and you have the opportunity to have a companion come in and dine with should you wish,” Air New Zealand Chief Commercial Officer Jeremy O’Brien tells Karryon in an interview onboard the new plane in Auckland. Dinner for two? What could be more romantic?
“Across that entire business cabin, there are nice little extra touches around stowage. To be able to have a bunch of different items and not have all of your gear go all over the aircraft was really important.
“So there’s some nice design touches there.. and then there’s charging. So you’ve got wireless charging in the business cabin; you have a number of extra USB ports as well. And so that kind of convenience is very well looked after in that cabin.”
Indeed, Air New Zealand’s new premium cabins feel like a major step up from its previous top-tier offering.
In its Business Premier cabin, passengers can enjoy 24-inch (over 60 cms) screens, which O’Brien says are “more than twice the size of the screens we had there previously”. That alone should tell you something of its ambition to offer high-end flyers an elevated experience.
In the new Premium Economy cabin, personal screens are 15.5 inches (nearly 40 cms). But the most obvious upgrade in this cabin is that seats now sit within a hard shell, “which we think makes a significant difference”, says O’Brien.
“So the reality is that when you recline your seat, it doesn’t encroach on the space of privacy or anyone around you. So [when] you recline, it reclines forward, not backwards. You recline into your space. Comfort and space were kind of a pain point that we were trying to design around, and we believe the Premium Economy cabin has done that.”
The Premium Economy seats also feature curved headrests and frames that “again, just give you that little bit of extra privacy”. And extra comfort, as you can fully lean your head into the curve without it buckling at all under the weight.
“We think that this cabin is going to be incredibly popular and really great value for money.”
Elsewhere, the carrier has put a lot of thought into the cabins’ aesthetic, with subtle touches like kiwi feathers embedded into walls and even native flora and fauna designs in the lavatories.
“And it’s all been very deliberate, and ties into what you’ll also see on the [upcoming new] uniforms of our crew. Everything is kind of very cohesive and of that same design platform,” the CCO states.
But this is a nose-to-tail refit, so major improvements to Economy haven’t been left out, led by the larger screens and an enhancement to the food and beverage offering.
“The one thing around that Economy cabin that’s just a nice little touch is we will have those Sky Pantries, where the customer can – without having to ring the bell, without encroaching on the galley space of the crew – just go into that Sky Pantry, grab a snack and grab a drink whenever they like throughout the flight,” O’Brien says. Hence, the perfect name.
And of course, the carrier’s SkyCouch, which gives Economy flyers a lie-flat option, is still around.
“Those seats are very comfortable, but slightly thinner. So they give you, from a design perspective… more space.”
The first of Air New Zealand’s retrofitted B787 Dreamliners will make its debut on the Auckland-Brisbane route on 19 May, with tickets on sale from Wednesday (7 May).
Karryon attended the sneak peek of the new aircraft as a guest of Air New Zealand. For more info, visit www.airnewzealand.com.au.
All images by Mark Harada
