Cheree Kinnear talks to Air New Zealand's Head of Aircraft Programmes Kerry Reeves about the exciting changes coming to their cabins.
Video / Jed Bradley / NZ Herald / Air NZ
Long-awaited improvements to Air New Zealand Dreamliner cabins are under way.
The major refresh of the airline’s Boeing 787-9 fleet starts this week, with the first of 14 aircraft touching down in Singapore on Sunday to be retrofitted with new cabin interiors.
The aircraft’s existing interior will be stripped out and new products installed, including revamped seats in Economy and Premium Economy, and the redesigned Business Premier cabin, including the new Business Premier Luxe product.
The refit won’t include installation of its Sky Nest bunk beds which are coming to new planes.
The new Business Premier cabin. Photo / Supplied
Baden Smith, Air New Zealand’s general manager of strategy, networks and fleet, said the arrival of the aircraft in Singapore marked a key milestone for the project.
Air New Zealand was the launch customer for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2014 and is the first airline in the world to retrofit these aircraft nose-to-tail with a new interior.
The retrofit programme will involve all the interiors removed, including the seats, in-flight entertainment system, carpet, curtains, and lavatory wallpaper, before it’s all replaced.
The airline's new Premium Economy cabin. Photo / Supplied
“The aircraft will then come back to New Zealand where our team will spend a few weeks working through various checks and training before it officially enters the flying schedule in the next year.”
Over the next two years, all 14 of the airline’s 787-9 aircraft will be retrofitted one at a time on a rolling schedule.
The airline also had eight new Dreamliners on order but these have been delayed; first due to a deferral during the pandemic and now because of problems at Boeing.
The scope of the retrofit includes:
New seats in every cabin, including the new Business Premier Luxe seats in the Business Premier cabin
New carpet throughout the aircraft
New curtains between cabins and galleys
New wallpaper, hands-free waste disposal, and amenity holders in toilets
New in-flight entertainment screens and system
Sky Pantry installed in the Economy cabin
The aircraft LOPA (Layout of Passenger Accommodation) on all 14 aircraft will be reconfigured to have 272 seats.
That would feature four Business Premier Luxe seats, 22 Business Premier seats, 33 Premium Economy seats, and 213 Economy seats, including 13 Economy Skycouch.
Currently, the airline’s 787-9 aircraft have two different LOPA or configurations; nine aircraft with 302 seats, and five aircraft with 275 seats.
Grant Bradley has worked at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
