Brief TR for NZ Inaugural of 787-9
Aug 10, 2014, 3:24 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG (previously SOU and PLH)
Programs: NZ Elite, QFWP, IHG Plat, *wood Gold
Posts: 533
Brief TR for NZ Inaugural of 787-9
Folks,
I was fortunate enough to be on the Air New Zealand inaugural flight of their Boeing 787-9 this weekend (9th August 2014).
The following serves as my observations of the plane, the flight and the overall experience.
I had been tracking the potential inaugural flight of the newly delivered 787 for a couple of weeks. When ANA announced that they would be starting to fly their new 787-9 in the week commencing 4th August, Air NZ were quick to point out the first ANA flight was not for fare paying customers. They also stated that they would start the training flights across the Tasman on 9th August. the only issue being they hadn't at that stage loaded the plane into the booking system and hence no specific way of knowing which flight it would take. It became clear that it would replace a 777 or 767 flight and the most obvious choice was NZ103 departing AKL at 9am and arriving SYD 10.30. This was originally assigned as a 772.
I booked the trip initially under a flexible seat only ticket and when the 787-9 was loaded into the system and I was fairly confident it would indeed be NZ103, I cancelled the flexi ticket and rebooked a cheap seat only fare. $248 for the one way fare AKL-SYD.
With a departure of 9am I was unable to fly from WLG on the day and took a late flight on the Friday evening after work and stayed at the HI using 20,000points for the privilege.
I had been hoping for a premium economy seat on the flight as there are a few assigned to Frequent flyers. The others seem to be assigned to the works deluxe fare. Alas, after taking some advice on this board I didn't initially select a seat, hoping that NZ would assign the best possible seat for me with 24/48hours to go.
upon checking (several times!) on expert flyer and the NZ website, I ended up moving from row 40-ish up to 36C which is the second row of the main economy cabin. It is also the first row of space-couch (I later found out).
I online checked in as I was running a little late in the morning and arrived at AKL international departures at around 7.50am. The place was horribly packed with very very long queues for the check in desks of NZ. I am not sure why it was so busy. Making my way to the premium check in area, I printed out a boarding pass to have a memento of the trip rather than use the boarding pass on my phone.
the premium area was also very busy but with no luggage I was in the lift and into the immigration area within 5minutes. A reasonable queue and then through security and departures.
The plane was stationed at gate 2 which meant it could be seen from the main departures area and there were already a few people taking photos through the glazed faade.
I went up to get some breakfast in the lounge and it was packed too. I grabbed a coffee and kept watching the FID screens. It appeared that we might be a little late to leave as no call for boarding despite staying in the lounge until 8.30am.
I left the lounge to find the gate and see if there was any fuss. Sadly no fuss or banners etc. A fair amount of people at the gate and it got steadily busier. There were clearly a number of plane spotters (me included I suppose!) on the flight with plenty of photos of various angles of the plane and gate lounge.
I boarded upon the *Gold announcement and was perhaps 30th onto the plane, so no great photo opportunities.
The aircraft was exceptionally clean and sparkling (as one would hope). Entering from 2L it was a right turn and a couple of paces to my seat. It slowly filled up with people taking the odd photo and generally a more leisurely boarding. We left around 10 to 15minute later than the scheduled 9am.
To put my experience of the flight into context, I have never been on the 787-8 and my last 'long haul' (as in long haul plane) on NZ was about 4 years ago. I have however been on every variant of the NZ fleet.
The first thing to strike me was the crew were all very excited and had broad happy smiles. The announcement from the Captain and CSM let us all now that we were on the first 787-9 flight for NZ. In the cockpit there were no less than 3 captains and no first officers!
After take off there was an announcement from the cabin crew that we had made history and an impromptu round of applause from the passengers.
Drinks services started about 30mins into the flight with food if you had ordered. With a seat only fare I settled for coffee throughout the flight.
I had been checking EF and noted that there was likely to be a spare seat (B) between myself and a fellow passenger in 36A. I noticed that there was a set of business headphones in their seat pocket and assumed that this chap was an Elite. As luck would have it, the Elite chap never showed up (perhaps upgraded?) and I had the whole 3 seats to myself.
This gave me the opportunity to explore the seats and window shade. I must say, the window shading via an up/down push button is impressive. It is a little slow to react, but works very well, going through turquoise /green / blue colours.
the inflight entertainment screens worked particularly well also. I noticed that they are very responsive and the screen quality is sharp. The menus are easy to navigate and I believe no change from what is currently available on other aircraft. There are infrared sensors at the base of the screen that light up the off button and LED's around a USB and phone jack, both positioned below the screen.
the screen has some tilting movement although reasonably restricted. One can use the two prong headphone socket in the arm of the seat rest or the 3.5mm jack below the screen. I did notice that there was distortion at higher volume levels when using my own headphones in the 3.5mm jack. No such distortion when (burrowing) using the biz prem headphones in the double prong seat rest point.
Ordering food etc from the screen worked well and the various map options were good too.
I found the seat itself particularly comfortable and with a reasonably amount of leg room, could probably manage a TRANSPAC flight in it?! (being spoilt for long haul business for the last 10years). There is a reasonable amount of recline in the seat and width feels comfortable. For reference, I am average build and 6'1" tall.
Overhead bins are very spacious and a normal seat pocket for smaller items. The cabin lighting is particularly good with nice colours and adjustable by the crew. There is a noticeable reduction in noise, even when taking off the plane did feel quieter and smoother than others. row 36 is right next to the front of the wing, so has a very good view of the massive engine!
Upon a brief walkaround, I noted that the premium economy seating was full and looked reasonably spacious with larger screens. I wouldn't be that keen as a solo traveller for the middle seat in the central block of 3 seat though...Upon leaving the aircraft, we walked through Business and I noticed very little difference between the original and updated versions of the cabin in the 773. The three across does make this much more spacious and if you wanted less footfall in your seat, then plump for the left as the central seats are accessed from the right aisle.
I did note that the galley between Premium and standard economy was very spacious (being also the main door entry too), but only one toilet positioned here (unless I completely missed it on the right hand side?). This seems a little meagre, but I guess you would head back down the plane in search of more...
With a space couch to play around with, and not withstanding perhaps the food and slightly larger screen, I would suggest the space and freedom is much better than a standard premium economy seat...I was given the lap belt kit and instructions to play with the seating configurations too.
After what seemed a very brief flight (time flies when you are having fun) we were on the ground in Sydney with another spontaneous round of applause, taxiing to the gate stand.
Unfortunately, we were held at the gate for around 30minutes whilst they tried to get the aerobridge into the correct position. They started on door 2L and gave up after several attempts and resorted to using Door 1L. we filtered off and a farewell to the crew.
Overall, I really like this plane. Being new and very clean is great, but also the design and quality of the seats is great. the lighting, larger windows and general ambience of the cabin is very positive and the window shades work (not just a gimmick). Assuming the humidity control is as advertised, this will be a fantastic upgrade from the 767 fleet and I would seriously consider routing myself through Asia on this plane rather than the 777 fleet. Air NZ should be very proud of the plane and I am now looking forward to my AKL-PER-AKL flight on 15th October even more.
I was fortunate enough to be on the Air New Zealand inaugural flight of their Boeing 787-9 this weekend (9th August 2014).
The following serves as my observations of the plane, the flight and the overall experience.
I had been tracking the potential inaugural flight of the newly delivered 787 for a couple of weeks. When ANA announced that they would be starting to fly their new 787-9 in the week commencing 4th August, Air NZ were quick to point out the first ANA flight was not for fare paying customers. They also stated that they would start the training flights across the Tasman on 9th August. the only issue being they hadn't at that stage loaded the plane into the booking system and hence no specific way of knowing which flight it would take. It became clear that it would replace a 777 or 767 flight and the most obvious choice was NZ103 departing AKL at 9am and arriving SYD 10.30. This was originally assigned as a 772.
I booked the trip initially under a flexible seat only ticket and when the 787-9 was loaded into the system and I was fairly confident it would indeed be NZ103, I cancelled the flexi ticket and rebooked a cheap seat only fare. $248 for the one way fare AKL-SYD.
With a departure of 9am I was unable to fly from WLG on the day and took a late flight on the Friday evening after work and stayed at the HI using 20,000points for the privilege.
I had been hoping for a premium economy seat on the flight as there are a few assigned to Frequent flyers. The others seem to be assigned to the works deluxe fare. Alas, after taking some advice on this board I didn't initially select a seat, hoping that NZ would assign the best possible seat for me with 24/48hours to go.
upon checking (several times!) on expert flyer and the NZ website, I ended up moving from row 40-ish up to 36C which is the second row of the main economy cabin. It is also the first row of space-couch (I later found out).
I online checked in as I was running a little late in the morning and arrived at AKL international departures at around 7.50am. The place was horribly packed with very very long queues for the check in desks of NZ. I am not sure why it was so busy. Making my way to the premium check in area, I printed out a boarding pass to have a memento of the trip rather than use the boarding pass on my phone.
the premium area was also very busy but with no luggage I was in the lift and into the immigration area within 5minutes. A reasonable queue and then through security and departures.
The plane was stationed at gate 2 which meant it could be seen from the main departures area and there were already a few people taking photos through the glazed faade.
I went up to get some breakfast in the lounge and it was packed too. I grabbed a coffee and kept watching the FID screens. It appeared that we might be a little late to leave as no call for boarding despite staying in the lounge until 8.30am.
I left the lounge to find the gate and see if there was any fuss. Sadly no fuss or banners etc. A fair amount of people at the gate and it got steadily busier. There were clearly a number of plane spotters (me included I suppose!) on the flight with plenty of photos of various angles of the plane and gate lounge.
I boarded upon the *Gold announcement and was perhaps 30th onto the plane, so no great photo opportunities.
The aircraft was exceptionally clean and sparkling (as one would hope). Entering from 2L it was a right turn and a couple of paces to my seat. It slowly filled up with people taking the odd photo and generally a more leisurely boarding. We left around 10 to 15minute later than the scheduled 9am.
To put my experience of the flight into context, I have never been on the 787-8 and my last 'long haul' (as in long haul plane) on NZ was about 4 years ago. I have however been on every variant of the NZ fleet.
The first thing to strike me was the crew were all very excited and had broad happy smiles. The announcement from the Captain and CSM let us all now that we were on the first 787-9 flight for NZ. In the cockpit there were no less than 3 captains and no first officers!
After take off there was an announcement from the cabin crew that we had made history and an impromptu round of applause from the passengers.
Drinks services started about 30mins into the flight with food if you had ordered. With a seat only fare I settled for coffee throughout the flight.
I had been checking EF and noted that there was likely to be a spare seat (B) between myself and a fellow passenger in 36A. I noticed that there was a set of business headphones in their seat pocket and assumed that this chap was an Elite. As luck would have it, the Elite chap never showed up (perhaps upgraded?) and I had the whole 3 seats to myself.
This gave me the opportunity to explore the seats and window shade. I must say, the window shading via an up/down push button is impressive. It is a little slow to react, but works very well, going through turquoise /green / blue colours.
the inflight entertainment screens worked particularly well also. I noticed that they are very responsive and the screen quality is sharp. The menus are easy to navigate and I believe no change from what is currently available on other aircraft. There are infrared sensors at the base of the screen that light up the off button and LED's around a USB and phone jack, both positioned below the screen.
the screen has some tilting movement although reasonably restricted. One can use the two prong headphone socket in the arm of the seat rest or the 3.5mm jack below the screen. I did notice that there was distortion at higher volume levels when using my own headphones in the 3.5mm jack. No such distortion when (burrowing) using the biz prem headphones in the double prong seat rest point.
Ordering food etc from the screen worked well and the various map options were good too.
I found the seat itself particularly comfortable and with a reasonably amount of leg room, could probably manage a TRANSPAC flight in it?! (being spoilt for long haul business for the last 10years). There is a reasonable amount of recline in the seat and width feels comfortable. For reference, I am average build and 6'1" tall.
Overhead bins are very spacious and a normal seat pocket for smaller items. The cabin lighting is particularly good with nice colours and adjustable by the crew. There is a noticeable reduction in noise, even when taking off the plane did feel quieter and smoother than others. row 36 is right next to the front of the wing, so has a very good view of the massive engine!
Upon a brief walkaround, I noted that the premium economy seating was full and looked reasonably spacious with larger screens. I wouldn't be that keen as a solo traveller for the middle seat in the central block of 3 seat though...Upon leaving the aircraft, we walked through Business and I noticed very little difference between the original and updated versions of the cabin in the 773. The three across does make this much more spacious and if you wanted less footfall in your seat, then plump for the left as the central seats are accessed from the right aisle.
I did note that the galley between Premium and standard economy was very spacious (being also the main door entry too), but only one toilet positioned here (unless I completely missed it on the right hand side?). This seems a little meagre, but I guess you would head back down the plane in search of more...
With a space couch to play around with, and not withstanding perhaps the food and slightly larger screen, I would suggest the space and freedom is much better than a standard premium economy seat...I was given the lap belt kit and instructions to play with the seating configurations too.
After what seemed a very brief flight (time flies when you are having fun) we were on the ground in Sydney with another spontaneous round of applause, taxiing to the gate stand.
Unfortunately, we were held at the gate for around 30minutes whilst they tried to get the aerobridge into the correct position. They started on door 2L and gave up after several attempts and resorted to using Door 1L. we filtered off and a farewell to the crew.
Overall, I really like this plane. Being new and very clean is great, but also the design and quality of the seats is great. the lighting, larger windows and general ambience of the cabin is very positive and the window shades work (not just a gimmick). Assuming the humidity control is as advertised, this will be a fantastic upgrade from the 767 fleet and I would seriously consider routing myself through Asia on this plane rather than the 777 fleet. Air NZ should be very proud of the plane and I am now looking forward to my AKL-PER-AKL flight on 15th October even more.
Aug 10, 2014, 5:11 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,367
Thanks for the report djsteve. Glad to hear the Y seats are pretty comfortable, despite everyone's fears regarding 9 across seating. What were your thoughts on the new IFE? Australian Business Traveller really raved about it recently - did you feel it lived up to the hype?
I finally got to try a dreamliner a few weeks ago (LOT Polish 787-8 JFK-WAW) so I got to have a good play with the window settings on an overnight flight - I must say I really like them. Although you can still see through them faintly on their darkest setting, they definitely still allow the cabin to be dark enough. One nice touch is that they can set it so that multiple windows are controlled by a single controller, so in the case of LOT's aircraft with flatbed seats, adjusting the control on any window would result in all four windows changing at once.
I can also report that I think the claims of higher humidity levels do ring true. Despite drinking a fair bit of Polish vodka onboard, I woke up feeling surprisingly non-dehydrated. I think these will prove very comfortable aircraft for long flights.
The one thing I found a bit disappointing was the noise levels. I didn't think it was especially quiet - yes it's quieter than a 777, but I've always found that quite a loud aircraft. Certainly nowhere near A380 levels of hush.
I finally got to try a dreamliner a few weeks ago (LOT Polish 787-8 JFK-WAW) so I got to have a good play with the window settings on an overnight flight - I must say I really like them. Although you can still see through them faintly on their darkest setting, they definitely still allow the cabin to be dark enough. One nice touch is that they can set it so that multiple windows are controlled by a single controller, so in the case of LOT's aircraft with flatbed seats, adjusting the control on any window would result in all four windows changing at once.
I can also report that I think the claims of higher humidity levels do ring true. Despite drinking a fair bit of Polish vodka onboard, I woke up feeling surprisingly non-dehydrated. I think these will prove very comfortable aircraft for long flights.
The one thing I found a bit disappointing was the noise levels. I didn't think it was especially quiet - yes it's quieter than a 777, but I've always found that quite a loud aircraft. Certainly nowhere near A380 levels of hush.
Aug 10, 2014, 8:50 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG (previously SOU and PLH)
Programs: NZ Elite, QFWP, IHG Plat, *wood Gold
Posts: 533
Thanks for the report djsteve. Glad to hear the Y seats are pretty comfortable, despite everyone's fears regarding 9 across seating. What were your thoughts on the new IFE? Australian Business Traveller really raved about it recently - did you feel it lived up to the hype?
The sensors that light up the button and inputs as your hand moves near the screen are also a nice touch.
Perhaps because the cabin wasn't completely full, but I found the space comfortable and not claustrophobic.
Aug 10, 2014, 10:22 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wellington
Programs: QFWP (LTSG), NZ (Jade), TG ROP (Forgotten), OZ (Silver), AA (Cardboard), EK (Lowest of the Low)
Posts: 4,671
I was curious about the personal space in Y in a 9 across 787, whether it would be worse than a 10 across 777, 747 or a 6 across 737. From photos it looks tight but in Y for me, not a large guy, all Boeing aircraft, except a 767 in Y are tight for me.
Aug 11, 2014, 3:05 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2012
Programs: NZ Elite
Posts: 100
Thanks for the report djsteve. Had thought about making it on to the flight but I couldn't justify it after recent big trip.
A shame they didn't make the most of the opportunity, especially given their reputation as a 'social' airline and all the updates we had as the plane went through the factory etc.
There's a trip report from the ANA 787-9 flight last week on the forums as well; couldn't be more of a contrast from a fan-fair point of view by the look of it.
On the positive side, from what I've seen NZ's plane is much, much nicer inside. Partly due to the shorter haul usage for that plane I suppose, but the style choices by ANA are pretty average IMO.
A shame they didn't make the most of the opportunity, especially given their reputation as a 'social' airline and all the updates we had as the plane went through the factory etc.
There's a trip report from the ANA 787-9 flight last week on the forums as well; couldn't be more of a contrast from a fan-fair point of view by the look of it.
On the positive side, from what I've seen NZ's plane is much, much nicer inside. Partly due to the shorter haul usage for that plane I suppose, but the style choices by ANA are pretty average IMO.
Aug 11, 2014, 9:23 pm
#7
Join Date: May 2014
Location: London
Posts: 115
Thanks for the report djsteve. Had thought about making it on to the flight but I couldn't justify it after recent big trip.
A shame they didn't make the most of the opportunity, especially given their reputation as a 'social' airline and all the updates we had as the plane went through the factory etc.
There's a trip report from the ANA 787-9 flight last week on the forums as well; couldn't be more of a contrast from a fan-fair point of view by the look of it.
On the positive side, from what I've seen NZ's plane is much, much nicer inside. Partly due to the shorter haul usage for that plane I suppose, but the style choices by ANA are pretty average IMO.
A shame they didn't make the most of the opportunity, especially given their reputation as a 'social' airline and all the updates we had as the plane went through the factory etc.
There's a trip report from the ANA 787-9 flight last week on the forums as well; couldn't be more of a contrast from a fan-fair point of view by the look of it.
On the positive side, from what I've seen NZ's plane is much, much nicer inside. Partly due to the shorter haul usage for that plane I suppose, but the style choices by ANA are pretty average IMO.
Aug 12, 2014, 5:37 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: Gold: VS, SQ, AF/KL
Posts: 254
Thanks for the trip report.^
I was curious about the personal space in Y in a 9 across 787, whether it would be worse than a 10 across 777, 747 or a 6 across 737. From photos it looks tight but in Y for me, not a large guy, all Boeing aircraft, except a 767 in Y are tight for me.
I was curious about the personal space in Y in a 9 across 787, whether it would be worse than a 10 across 777, 747 or a 6 across 737. From photos it looks tight but in Y for me, not a large guy, all Boeing aircraft, except a 767 in Y are tight for me.
I've been on a 787-8 and the 3-3-3 economy seating does feel spacious.
Aug 12, 2014, 8:10 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Programs: Million Miles achieved | 2017 Delta Platinum, United NADA, Global Entry, PreCheck, NEXUS
Posts: 1,295
I'd love to be able to try the couch seats though (Don't think UA has that). That might change my mind.
Aug 13, 2014, 1:27 am
#10
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: AKL
Programs: NZ Silver
Posts: 1,821
Thanks for the reportdjsteve - shame they didn't utilise the PR opportunity...I flew the inaugraul revival of MON a year or so ago and they even had momentos to take home and sparkling wine for all pax to mark the occasion...I'd have thought they'd treat something like this like a social media dream.
Aug 13, 2014, 3:55 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: NZ
Programs: AA, UA, QF, TK, EY, NZ
Posts: 447
Ahh.. So you were the skycoucher the row behind my friend! I think I actually spent as much time in 35C as I did in my allocated Y+ seat..
I may/may not write something.. By the time it gets published, it'll be well out of date anyway haha.
I may/may not write something.. By the time it gets published, it'll be well out of date anyway haha.
Aug 13, 2014, 3:42 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG (previously SOU and PLH)
Programs: NZ Elite, QFWP, IHG Plat, *wood Gold
Posts: 533
Uploading some of the photos you were taking would be good! I didn't take any decent photos, so would be good to publish them for all to see
Aug 14, 2014, 4:44 am
#14
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: NZ
Programs: AA, UA, QF, TK, EY, NZ
Posts: 447
Anyway, here are some pics...
