sbiddle

Well up until late last year I don't think anybody expected the 777-8 to ever be built but there are now quite a few confirmed orders incl from Emirates. I don't see Air NZ replacing the 77W fleet until maybe 2029ish so it *could* exist by then (and that's another 4-5 years of the same BP cabin..)

Going A350 would be a admission their focus of fewer aircraft types which is a strategy they've been so staunchly focused on the for the last ~10 years was a stupid idea.. But then again there have been plenty of stupid ideas they have been sold on.

Who knows what we could have had by now if the -10 HGW had been delivered in 2022 and Covid hadn't happened? I did find it strange that Air NZ talked so much about the new BP seat only being designed during Covid which makes me wonder about all the work for the new BP cabin originally designed for the -10 in and what seat that was actually going to have when this was initially due for delivery in 2022.

sbiddle

Are you saying that the existing V1 and V2 configs are not actually being merged into a single LOPA? I thought that was the plan they announced last year when they announced the refurbishment?

Obviously there is a lot of work required to do that but I thought that was the plan..

djsflynn

No, I'm saying all current 787s will be refurb'd into a 22J config, while the new 787s will arrive in a 42J config.

samjnz

It's a strange decision to ultimately reduce BP capacity (27 -> 22 seats) in the existing v2 fleet given the trend towards increased premium leisure travel.

sbiddle

But that surely can't be the case? The current V2 config has 27 BP seats so I can't see why they'd refurb these and have fewer seats than they do presently when they're moving to 1-2-1 from 1-1-1. The goal is to get more premium seats, not fewer.

Or have Air NZ now decided to stick with two different LOPAs for the existing 789 fleet which will be a much easier and quicker refurb for the v1 fleet?
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djsflynn

My understanding is that AirNZ wants to standardise the new business class across all 787s, but I'll loop back with them on this and double-check...

sbiddle

That's exactly my understanding and what I thought they announced last year...a new common LOPA for the existing v1 and v2 cabins and then one for the new 789s with the ULR config.

rtv4

From the FAQ around the initial announcment:
"The eight Boeing 787-9s arriving from 2024 and retrofitted current 787-9 fleet will have either eight or four Business Premier Luxe seats and 34 or 22 Business Premier™ seats."

The LOPA shows 42 (34 + 8), so that would imply the other config is 26 (22+4), rather than just 22?

Thai-Kiwi

And I note the diagram above has 26 BP/BPL seats in the forward J cabin, which gives scope to move the PE section forward (and possibly reduce down from 52 to something like 35, and (finally) have more Y seats.

A quickly knocked-up 789v4 for speculative purposes only…

sbiddle

But there is no Skynest on the refurbed aircraft only on the new 789s (and possibly 78K if they ever arrive).

Thai-Kiwi

Quick sketch improved accordingly…

fly747first

Kiwi flyers, my bad if I missed the details, but is the new Business Luxe essentially just a slightly more spacious seat with door and soft product-wise identical to the regular Business Premier cabin?

Thai-Kiwi

Exactly the same seat just with a door afaik. With slick marketing to separate pax and their $$$, and possibly some soft product enhancements. We don’t know exactly…

bce1

Per Thai Kiwi - but the foot well / forward space doesnt taper, so slightly more roomier and easier to sleep - like the bulkhead seats on SQ J, but they dont sell as a seperate product - just for HVC's.

djsflynn

Exactly so: more space, with 'buddy seat' option for companion dining, a few soft product extras such as a Merino wool throw, but f&b identical to Business Premiere.