Air New Zealand Air Points - New Long-Haul -vs- Airpoints Upgrades

After the new long-haul product is introduced on the SFO-AKL route starting in August, is it still going to be possible to get a standby upgrade to business for 400 air bucks, or will it only be possible to upgrade economy to premium economy (and, presumably likewise, premium econ to business)? I seem to recall this question was asked before but don't remember what the outcome was.

There are some reasonably priced W fares on Travelocity for August right now and I'm considering heading to NZ for a week or so then. The potential for an upgrade to the new biz class will no doubt influence my decision!

I dont think we've had any official answer. IIRC there was some speculation here on FT but I'm too lazy to search the relevant threads right now.

AFAIK, we won't get a definitive answer until mid-June, when Air NZ is due to announce the next wave of changes to the long haul rewards.

I don't know what will happen now (or later in the year), but in February I paid 400 airbuck for a standby economy-business upgrade SFO-AKL for October (ie in the new configuration). On my statement it says it is an upgrade to Business class, so I will be annoyed if they change it to a Premium Economy upgrade instead.

And they just announced the 2nd 777 route: AKL-SIN staring in Jan. 2006. Don't know the new earning rate on premium economy either.