Renovated 777-200s
 

A couple of questions ...

When these birds are renovated, will some routes have priority for the newly refurbished ones - e.g. YVR over say China/Japan?

Are they going to squeeze 10 seats across in Y just like the 777-300s? I'm assuming the fuselage of the 777-200 has same width as the 777-300, but is shorter. It would be nice if the 777-200 was narrower and they couldn't fit 10 across.

It's already confirmed that the new birds have 10 abreast 3-4-3 layout in Y.

Please refer to this post:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/23386798-post86.html

http://i62.tinypic.com/25s0j8x.jpg

As far as priority on deploying them goes, right now they've been used on AKL-HKG every other day, and the first 2 will be going on the AKL-SIN route as per the SQ alliance.

The first two go straight onto the SIN run (and are both required for this route). Beyond that the YVR will be next.

They've needed to remove the walls and refit new insulation to make the internal width wider, which brings them up to spec of newer 777-200s built.

FYI these also use the code 77R internally, with 77E remaining for the non refit 200s, and 77W for the 300s

It guarantees nothing, but at the moment the sole refitted 777-200 is almost entirely dedicated to the AKL-HKG route, operating every second flight.

Whether the introduction of the next aircraft will mean the route becomes dedicated to refitted 777-200s is unclear, as it needs 2 aircraft to operate on the current schedule (which rather inefficiently leaves a 777 in HKG for over 12 hours a day).

I haven't checked but is NZ's schedule significantly different to SQ's? SQ manages to use the same aircraft for each of its 3 NZ flights (in practice can vary due to eg maintenance). The SQ schedule has roughly 2 hours turn at each end + approx 10 hours flying.

^
A single refitted 777-200 could be used with the aircraft coming in from SIN being turned around and flown straight back to SIN. I guess Air NZ just wants the security of 2 incase one is down for maintenance / delayed etc.
I'm surprised YVR would be the next route though, since HKG is the only airport currently getting it now. Flightradar24 shows ZK-OKA just flying AKL-HKG-AKL continuously.

I emailed NZ and asked if they had any more information on the retrofit schedule. They said they are not able to find out in advance. I personally think that is garbage, and am guessing when it comes to $175m+ planes that *someone* has a pretty good idea of when they'll target the AKL/LAX routes.

I have a flight in March 2015 in PE and actually avoided returning on the 772 from AKL to LAX because the price was no different. I didn't want to take a chance that the 772 hadn't be upgraded. However, if I knew ahead of time, I would have gladly booked it to try both the space seat in the 773 on my LAX->AKL and then the 789 PE seat on the 772 AKL->LAX (NZ #6).

yes, it is difficult to imagine that no one knows....

agree that you should avoid 772 if you booked into PE, even with the new product, PE on 772 will be different from 77W, the space seat from 77W will not be installed on 772s

ZK-OKA is the first refitted plane and the new one is ZK-OKE, it has been taken out of service since mid Sept

Flew up to HKG on the retro fit 200 last Thursday night. Had the exit row 53- seats were hard and uncomfortable compared to last nights flight back in the same row in the old seats. IFE is great- touch screen and good definition.

Reduction in seat width noticeable?

Yes very noticeable. IMO the padding on the new seat is a lot thinner.

I haven't sat in the seats but I thought the Y seats looked very thin

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0a132a75.jpg

The second refitted 777-200 has come out (ZK-OKE), has already flown AKL-SYD, and from the 25th or 26th of November (according to Expertflyer schedules), will be operating in tandem with ZK-OKA on AKL-HKG-AKL, which will be welcome news for BP and PE customers, welcome news for fans of the Skycouch, not so welcome for pretty much anyone else in Y on that route.

Almost all NZ operated services on this route in the coming weeks are coded "777" not "772" indicating refitted aircraft, although that will drop out before the AKL-SIN route starts as there is insufficient time to get a 3rd aircraft completed. AKL-SIN needs 1 aircraft, so AKL-HKG will revert to being "777" every second day once more.

It is ZK-OKE and I believe it flew NZ119/118 AKL-SYD-AKL on the 21st. A "777" is scheduled to fly AKL-NAD-AKL and AKL-YVR-AKL on Sunday 23rd November as well.

Presumably there wont be enough time to complete a 3rd in time for the AKL-SIN route in January, which will see AKL-HKG back to "772" one day, "777" another.

It would appear NZ is prioritising SIN and HKG for the refitted 772s, presumably because its what the codeshare partners expect (although SQ in Y on A380 or 772/773 vs NZ on "777" doesn't compare favourably for NZ), whereas YVR/SFO/LAX remain monopoly routes and are a lower priority?

772 isn't main aircraft on AKL-LAX/SFO, it just does the extra services.

I'm flying WLG->AKL->SYD->MEL after Xmas with a RU lodged but noticed the seat select disappeared a few days ago. Hopefully that means an aircraft change from the original 77E on the AKL->SYD flight.