“It’s a really good premium economy, I think others come at this from an ‘economy plus’ angle” he said, with the airline tagging the seat as a ‘Business-lite’ product with an ink-coloured luxury leather seat, 41” pitch, 5” wide armrest and a leg rest and extendable foot support.

Luxon says the same seat will likely also appear on next year’s upgrade of its long-range Boeing 777-200ER fleet, which is used on numerous trans-Tasman flights between Australia and Auckland as well as its long-distance services.

All eight aircraft will “being completely rebuilt with brand new seats all through the cabins".

“The thought is that with the 787-9s and the 777-200 refurb it will make sense for us to get an off-the-rack (premium economy) seat” Luxon explains.