LyingFlat

It will be interesting to see the fare structure for BP and BP Luxe. Will they introduce a new booking class for BPL or will they add it by coupon/EMD like they do for Seat+Bag, Works etc? Also, one would assume that there would be a higher APD/SP earn for BPL.

These are the current booking classes:

A - PE Saver
B - Y Flex
C - BP Flex
D - BP Flex
E - PE Saver
F - Y Grabaseat
G - Y Saver
H - Y Flex
I - BP Star Award
J - BP Saver
K - Y Saver
L - Y Saver
M - Y Flex
N - Staff Travel
O - PE Saver
P - Y Saver
Q - Y Saver
R - BP Upgrades/APD Awards
S - Y Saver
T - Y Saver
U - PE Flex
V - Y Saver
W - Y Saver
X - Y Saver/Y Star Award
Y - Y Flex
Z - BP Saver

sbiddle

While I like the Business Premier brand I'm not sold on Business Premier Luxe

Just one other comment too - I saw your story about the PE seats and you mention these are the third generation PE seats - they are infact the forth generation PE seats. There was the original PE seat on the 744 and 772, then the Spaceseat on the 77W, then the current PE seat, and and now the new one.

mad_atta

Speaking of the new Premium Economy seat, has it been revealed what the seat pitch is? The seat looks OK-ish, but I'm highly suspicious about the lack of detail provided and I don't love that the calf-rest can't be extended to provide more support like the current one can. I find NZ's current PE seat the best overall of any I've tried (which notably does not include JAL's, which looks great), due to the combination of substantial seat pitch, deep recline and effective legrest.

In the mockups, it doesn't look like the seat reclines all that much. Is there any comparable data vs current seat, eg width, pitch, depth of recline? David did you get to try it out - any impressions you can share?

I'd be VERY happy to be proven wrong here, but my guess is that NZ is doing what QF did with their Dreamliner PE product - trying to distract with a flashy new seat and IFE design from the fact that pitch has been reduced and comfort compromised.

sopwith7

How is the recline on the new PE seats, in comparison to the current seat? Great that the passenger in front of you won't be in your lap anymore, but are they as comfy for reclining?

JamesBigglesworth

3 high? That just screams lawsuit for the US routes. I wonder how long after entry to service it takes before someone injures themselves getting in or out and NZ is sued?

mad_atta

Some interesting tidbits from the Executive Traveller article on the new PE:Does that mean a return to the business-class drinks list in PE, like in the old days? Or just augmenting the economy class wines with a (likely cheaper) champagne for PE, like SQ used to do (but has recently phased out)?

And what on earth does "sneak peaks of future products that will deliver a little luxury" mean?!

djsflynn

I tried it out, very comfortable and with a solid recline, but I can't draw a direct comparison in comfort/recline against the current 787 premium economy seat as it's been a long time since I flown that one. AirNZ didn't share details such as pitch and width, but I've emailed to follow up on that.

djsflynn

Not in a position to directly compare recline of new vs old - the new seat definitely has a good recline, but I couldn't definitively say it's better or equal to the current one (as we don't have numbers, and without those I'd want to be a lot more recently familiar with the current seat before comparing recline to the new one).

djsflynn

Ah yes, thanks for the pickup, Steve!

djsflynn

Update on premium economy: the new seats are 19" wide (as as listed for current ones) and retain 41" pitch.

sopwith7

Thanks for confirming. I guess time will tell on the recline vs the current seat.

mad_atta

Thanks David. Good to hear they have retained that decent seat pitch (substantially better than QF's on their 787s) and that it felt like a comfortable seat with a good recline. Perhaps for once this won't be an "enhancement" (in the BA sense of the word). Though I will be surprised if the recline is as much as the current seat.

mad_atta

Looking at the updated BP product, although they have retained the herringbone concept it does look like the significant reduction in how much they are angled away from the straight ahead has helped to reduce the difficulty of looking out the window, plus the additional shrouding and pull-out blind does make it look a lot more private.

Do we know just how much less of an angle away from the straight ahead are these seats on compared to the current seats (especially the 787 seats, which are terrible in this regard, but also the 773 seats)? Also, it looks like the walls are relatively low at 45-47" high - how does that compare to the old ones and to the other products out there? Does it feel decently private or do you feel a bit overlooked by people walking in the aisle?

Generally, the design looks better than I feared, and definitely a useful upgrade over the awful current 787 BP seat. Will be interested to try it. I'm not at all convinced it looks class-leading though. A few initial thoughts:

• Interesting that there don't really seem to be any armrests in the new BP design, or am I missing them?
• The small shelf for drinks etc looks high and awkwardly placed (a problem with current 787 BP seat too)
• Wonder what the total width in both seat and bed mode is?

Pies1311

The new biz class seats look ok to me, streets ahead of the outdated current product which I hate. But I'm not getting too excited as it looks like it will only be on a few planes from 2024 and then god knows how long it will take to upgrade the existing 787 fleet.

cavemanzk

Totally possible in the next couple of years, than NZ is planning to place an top up 787 order which could be for -10HGW’s.

Once (if) the market rebounds in a couple of years time, they are still down the 8x retired 77E fleet. Since the next 787 order was meant to replace the 77Ws post covid.