Air New Zealand has just unveiled plans to retrofit its entire Boeing 777 with new business class seats starting in 2027. However, these won’t be the same new business class seats that are currently being installed on the Boeing 787 fleet… and that’s probably a good thing?
Now, from a consistency standpoint, I do find it strange how Air New Zealand is currently installing two different new business class seats on two different fleet types. In some cases that’s necessary due to cabin width, but clearly that’s not the case here, since the 777 cabin is actually wider than the 787 cabin.
Ironically, I think Air New Zealand’s new off the shelf business class on the 777 is a superior product to the custom product on the 787, which doesn’t even have doors.
Bottom line
Air New Zealand will be installing a new business class product on its Boeing 777 fleet, which is long overdue. The airline will be installing a familiar reverse herringbone product with doors, which represents a major upgrade over the carrier’s current herringbone seats on these planes.
The only thing I can’t make sense of is why the airline is installing a different product than on the Boeing 787 fleet. Admittedly I actually think this product is better than the new 787 product. Regardless, it’s nice to see Air New Zealand’s entire long haul fleet get a refresh.
What do you make of Air New Zealand’s new 777 business class?