FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - when is NZ's new Business starting [Retrofitted 787 aircraft]?
Old Apr 30, 2025 | 3:08 pm
  #190  
nzkarit
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Originally Posted by sbiddle
As I see it there are really two aspects of the upgrade - one is clearly the seat with the brand new PE and BP seat designs, but don't underestimate other aspects such as the new Safran RAVE IFE and vastly improved in seat power with 60W USB-C PD.

Moving to an IFE platform that's around 12 years newer than what they were on is a massive upgrade and the bigger screen sizes and built-in Bluetooth is awesome. The addition of USB-C ports delivering up to 60W PD means you can now fast charge a phone / tablet / laptop as well. Safran also announced a casting type solution a few weeks ago (which only mentions YouTube support at present in the stories I read at the time) which opens up lots of opportunities.

While Air NZ are tied to their current Inmarsat GX solution the bandwidth limitations mean you can't have everybody on a plane streaming content, but that's something that will change in the next few years whether it's Air NZ moving their longhaul fleet to Starlink or maybe sticking with Inmarsat and their new LEO solution.

I know somebody who despite being a QF fanboi will never fly on them on their frequent trips to NYC because being disconnected from their business world for so long is a deal-breaker for them.
Casting will be interesting. Is it proprietary or standard Google Cast & do a thing like hotel rooms so can only cast to your seat?

Is a bit a shame that a lot of streaming apps won't cast pre downloaded content. (Even if streaming capable Wi-Fi on planes I would still most probably pre download, better UX).
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