Air New Zealand Air Points - What would you like to see in the new business class?

From all the reports about upgrading biz, with no mention of First it seems pretty certain that F is going, and the new biz will probably be somewhere between the two classes. Given that AirNZ are probably finalising the new business at the moment, what would you like to see? My list would be:

- seats that recline fully flat (like BA and Virgin, not on a slant like SQ and the others. I didn't find the Spacebed all that comfortable at all)
- cabin lighting that changes with the time of day (maybe with stars like on the Emirates A345 F class, they look like they'd be quite relaxing http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif)
- bigger portions of food served on proper plates, an extra course (soup or salad) and more interesting breakfast selections
- inflight snacks - the sandwiches are nice, but other carriers also have warm options
- nicer wines, from smaller NZ vinyards (in particular the biz class Sauv Blanc and dessert wines seem to have slipped lately)
- AVOD, with the ability to pause/rewind etc, much better screens and laptop power ports
- bigger bathrooms, with taps that sense when your hands are under them, and windows
- and (I'm probably just dreaming here) an onboard chef and a bar http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Right, that would just about sort me out. What do you guys think?

Cheers, Zac

P.S. oh, and of course all AKL-LHR flight to be routed through SFO http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by Zaco (edited Feb 18, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Zaco:
From all the reports about upgrading biz, with no mention of First it seems pretty certain that F is going, and the new biz will probably be somewhere between the two classes. Given that AirNZ are probably finalising the new business at the moment, what would you like to see? My list would be:

- seats that recline fully flat (like BA and Virgin, not on a slant like SQ and the others. I didn't find the Spacebed all that comfortable at all)
- cabin lighting that changes with the time of day (maybe with stars like on the Emirates A345 F class, they look like they'd be quite relaxing http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif)
- bigger portions of food served on proper plates, an extra course (soup or salad) and more interesting breakfast selections
- inflight snacks - the sandwiches are nice, but other carriers also have warm options
- nicer wines, from smaller NZ vinyards (in particular the biz class Sauv Blanc and dessert wines seem to have slipped lately)
- AVOD, with the ability to pause/rewind etc, much better screens and laptop power ports
- bigger bathrooms, with taps that sense when your hands are under them, and windows
- and (I'm probably just dreaming here) an onboard chef and a bar http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Right, that would just about sort me out. What do you guys think?

Cheers, Zac

P.S. oh, and of course all AKL-LHR flight to be routed through SFO http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by Zaco (edited Feb 18, 2004).]</font>

Ooh where do I start? Here is my wishlist http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Seating
Yes flat would be nice, and something that works properly not like some of the spacebeds out there. Like the headrest wings and height adjustment so keep that. Soft seat not hard. Nice and wide and comy.

Bar/loungette
Where you can stretch, yak with fellow pax (but partly screened so dont disturb those sleeping), grab a snack or drink (of course http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif )

Food & drink
More choices of wine and beer. There are some really great NZ drinks that may work well. Maybe book the cook, but as the general quality is great (and enough options) I can live without it.

IFE
Wiseman!!! VOD with lots of options, and games to amuse yourself when you've seen the movies already http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif. Bigger screen and improved anti-glare.

Misc
Wider loos, with a view (a la SQ's leadership). Perhaps stock a few more amenities.

Updated interior decor.

--

That will do for now. I can dream away cant I?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Zaco:
.....
- seats that recline fully flat (like BA and Virgin, not on a slant like SQ and the others. I didn't find the Spacebed all that comfortable at all)
- cabin lighting that changes with the time of day (maybe with stars like on the Emirates A345 F class, they look like they'd be quite relaxing http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif)
- bigger portions of food served on proper plates, an extra course (soup or salad) and more interesting breakfast selections
- inflight snacks - the sandwiches are nice, but other carriers also have warm options
- nicer wines, from smaller NZ vinyards (in particular the biz class Sauv Blanc and dessert wines seem to have slipped lately)
- AVOD, with the ability to pause/rewind etc, much better screens and laptop power ports
- bigger bathrooms, with taps that sense when your hands are under them, and windows
- and (I'm probably just dreaming here) an onboard chef and a bar http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
.....
</font>

That's pretty much it. Definitely add noise-cancelling earphone to the list.

Widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) LCDs. Sticking with 4:3 in a brand new AVOD system would be ridiculous given that you could buy a squillion cheap portable DVD players with 16:9 screens for what they're spending on the upgrade. Time to give the "formatted to fit this screen" movies the push, methinks.

And how about proper priority boarding with twin jetways. Hm, what was that? Dream on, you say? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

justakiwi