Air New Zealand’s New Business Class Debuting February 2025

In June 2022, Air New Zealand formally revealed the details of its new business class product, after teasing it for a couple of years. Air New Zealand is actually refreshing all of its cabins on the Boeing 787 (including introducing the innovative Skynest), but in this post I’ll be focusing specifically on business class.

I wanted to take an updated look at what we can expect from this product, especially since the airline has started the process of retrofitting its Boeing 787s, so we now have a better sense of the timeline for everything (including the first routes likely to get the new cabins).

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier seats

In early 2025, Air New Zealand will be introducing new Business Premier seats. Boeing 787s will feature either 42 or 22 of these seats, depending on the configuration.

There are different configurations depending on demand in various markets — the 14 retrofitted jets will feature 22 seats, while the new 787s that the airline takes delivery of will feature 26 seats.

Here are some of the basic features to be aware of:

• Seats will be in a 1-2-1 configuration, and will be herringbone, meaning that all seats face toward the aisles, rather than away from them; they’ll be at a 24 degree angle to the aircraft fuselage
• Seats will be 20.5″ wide, and will turn into 80.25″ flat beds
• Seats will have 24″ personal televisions, USB-A, USB-C, and AC power outlets, and bluetooth audio
• Business Premier seats won’t have doors, but they will have a shield that can be extended to provide some extra privacy

Air New Zealand’s new Business Premier Luxe seats

Air New Zealand isn’t just introducing a new Business Premier product, but the airline is also adding a new Business Premier Luxe seat. Think of it as a premium business class. Boeing 787s will feature either four or eight of these seats, depending on the configuration (since these are at bulkheads, it comes down to whether there’s one or two business class cabins).

These will feature more space, an ottoman, and a privacy door. The tray table will be larger, and it will be possible to dine with another passenger at these seats.

Essentially Air New Zealand is just creatively utilizing the space at the bulkhead. The other business class seats use some of the space to the side of the seat in front to maximize efficiency, but of course there’s no seat in front of the bulkhead row.

So Air New Zealand is giving those passengers extra space, and is marketing it as a separate product. Think of it as being along the lines of the JetBlue Mint Studio on the A321LR, the Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite on the A330-900neo, the Condor Prime Seats on the A330-900neo, etc.

There’s no indication yet of how pricing will work for this. Will there be a special fare class for these seats, or will there just be a consistent upcharge to select Business Premier Luxe, regardless of how you book your ticket?

When will Air New Zealand install its new business class?

Air New Zealand is expected to introduce its first Boeing 787 with new cabins as of February 2025. While we don’t have an exact date yet, FlightGlobal reports how Vancouver (YVR) and Rarotonga (RAR) are expected to be the first two destinations to get the new cabins. I’ll be sure to post an update when the seat maps are formally updated to reflect this change.

Air New Zealand has starting the process of retrofitting its existing fleet of 14 Dreamliners, and those planes will all feature these new cabins. The plan is for all 14 jets to be reconfigured within two years, so by late 2026.

Air New Zealand is also supposed to take delivery of a new batch of Boeing 787s with updated cabins. However, these have now been delayed until at least 2026. So it’s entirely possible that Air New Zealand reconfigures its entire 787 fleet prior to taking delivery of a single new 787. Note that Air New Zealand won’t install this product on Boeing 777s.

The wait here sure has been long, especially when you consider that the airline was already teasing this product before the pandemic.

My take on Air New Zealand’s new business class

Air New Zealand desperately needs a new business class product. Currently the airline has a standard herringbone product in business class, in a 1-1-1 configuration, which was first introduced back in 2005. This was an exciting product 15+ years ago, but at this point is outdated.

I’ve gotta be honest, I’m confused by the new Business Premier product, and am wondering what I’m missing:

• Reverse herringbone seats are considered more desirable than herringbone seats, given that they feature more privacy and have views out the window, so I have to wonder why Air New Zealand would choose to maintain a herringbone configuration
• It’s odd to see Air New Zealand not introducing doors on a new business class product introduced now, when that’s the direction the industry is headed
• There are several “generic” seats out there that on the surface seem superior to this, like the Adient Ascent seat (which Qatar Airways’ new Boeing 787-9s have)

Among the new business class products in development, this is probably the product that looks least impressive to me.

In fairness to Air New Zealand, the seat does look reasonably spacious in terms of the size of the footwell and the space around the seat, so that’s good. It’s also nice to see Air New Zealand increase premium seat capacity on many planes. Previously Air New Zealand’s planes had up to 27 business class seats, while now we’ll see some 787s with up to 50 business class seats, between Business Premier and Business Premier Luxe.

Business Premier Luxe looks great, and it looks like a significant step up over your average business class product, and also like a significant improvement over Business Premier. The big question is what pricing will be like.

Bottom line

Air New Zealand should be introducing its new business class product as of early 2025, and it will represent a significant improvement over what’s currently being offered. The airline is introducing a new Business Premier, which I’d say looks reasonably good, but not cutting edge. Meanwhile Business Premier Luxe is the biggest change, as these seats will have doors and ottomans.

We can expect the first retrofitted 787 with this new product to enter service in early 2025, while the first newly delivered 787 with this product will be delivered in 2026.

What do you make of Air New Zealand’s new business class?