The Room FX: ANA’s New No-Recline Boeing 787 Business Class Suite

In June 2025, All Nippon Airways formally unveiled plans to start overhauling the cabins of its international Boeing 787-9s, which includes introducing new seats in all cabins. This doesn’t just include new business class suites, but also a new premium economy and economy cabin.

While we knew that these planes would debut in 2026, we didn’t have a more detailed timeline beyond that. Fortunately there’s now an update, so we have some more details. Let’s go over everything we know about ANA’s exciting new Dreamliners.

New ANA 787 business class product details

ANA is known for its incredible “The Room” business class, available exclusively on select Boeing 777-300ERs. The airline now plans to introduce a new business class on select Boeing 787-9s, which looks similar on the surface, but has some major differences. The new product is called “The Room FX,” with the “FX” standing for “Future Experience.” In other words, it’s an evolved version of “The Room.”

Designed in partnership with Safran and Acumen, the product is described as “the world’s largest seat in its class on a mid-sized aircraft.” ANA’s 787-9s are expected to have 48 business class seats, spread across 12 rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Seats will alternative between being forward facing and rear facing, with each seat having a privacy door.

New ANA 787 business class cabin
New ANA 787 business class cabin
New ANA 787 business class cabin

Here’s the first thing that makes this seat interesting — this is a “no-recline” business class, much like you’ll find on Finnair. That’s to say that when you want to get into bed mode, you don’t recline the seat back, but instead, you just slide down.

New ANA 787 business class seat
New ANA 787 business class seat

The airline describes the seat as having a pre-reclining function that transforms the backrest into a sofa-like configuration, allowing passengers to relax in a variety of positions, similar to lounging on a living room sofa. When it comes to seat dimensions, the bed has a maximum length of 76.5″, and a maximum width of 41.5″.

New ANA 787 business class leg rest recline
New ANA 787 business class leg rest recline
New ANA 787 business class leg rest recline

As far as tech goes, each seat has a 24″ HD monitor with bluetooth audio. The charging options are also extensive, with USB-A, USB-C, AC, and wireless charging.

New ANA 787 business class seat storage

Here’s how Victoria Foy, CEO of Safran Seats, describes this product:

“At Safran Seats, we are proud to deepen our long-standing partnership with ANA through the launch of ‘THE Room FX.’ This new business class seat represents a step-change in comfort, versatility, and innovative design for the Boeing 787-9. By combining our engineering expertise with ANA’s commitment to passenger excellence and Acumen’s creative vision, we are setting new benchmarks in the world of premium air travel.”

Here’s how Ian Dryburgh, CEO of Acume, describes this:

“‘THE Room FX’ project is a result of a profound long-standing partnership between ANA, Acumen and Safran – shaped by years of trust, creativity and innovation. Building on the success and DNA of the ‘The Room’ B777, this next-generation suite elevates the flying experience with a rare balance of comfort, flexibility and elegant engineering. This is a refreshingly original and market leading Business Class product that we believe will exceed passengers’ expectations for many years to come.”

New ANA 787 rollout timeline & cabin layout

When should we expect the first planes with these cabins? The plan is that the first plane will be delivered in August 2026, and three of these Dreamliners should be flying by the end of the year. For those curious about the overall capacity of the plane:

  • ANA’s current 787-9s feature 215 seats, including 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 146 economy class seats
  • ANA’s future 787-9s will feature 206 seats, including 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 137 economy class seats

So as you can see, with the introduction of the new cabins, we’ll see capacity reduced by nine seats, all in economy.

This looks like an excellent new business class

The Boeing 787 fuselage isn’t quite as wide as that of the Boeing 777, and often that leads to a compromise in terms of seat comfort. ANA’s “The Room” business class on the 777 is regarded as one of the best in the world, and I’d say the 787 evolution sounds excellent.

Compared to the 777, the product has the benefit of boasting improved tech, from bluetooth audio, to better charging options. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if this product ends up being a little less comfortable than the existing 777 business class, but who knows.

Regardless, it sounds like a massive improvement over ANA’s existing 787 business class. Also keep in mind that the Dreamliner makes up a huge part of ANA’s fleet. The airline has 35 international 787-9s, with an additional 27 on order.

The last thing worth mentioning is just how much space ANA is dedicating to these cabins. As we see airlines introduce new business class products, they’re often not willing to compromise on footprint, since they don’t want to reduce cabin density.

In this case, ANA is installing just 24 business class seats between the first and second set of doors on the 787-9. Compare that to the 30 business class seats that many other airlines fit into the same space (or that ANA has on its existing 787-9s)…

Bottom line

ANA has unveiled its new Boeing 787 business class, named “The Room FX.” The product represents an evolution of the existing “The Room” seat that’s found on Boeing 777s, and it looks great. Expect upgraded tech and much more spacious seats, with the only catch being that this is a no-recline concept, much like you’ll find on Finnair.

The first plane with these cabins should be flying as of August 2026, with three planes in service by the end of the year.

What do you make of ANA’s new 787 business class?

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John S Guest

I love both ANA and JAL, they just keep improving and it’s not just in Business either, their Economy and Premium Economy is Industry leading

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Baliken Guest

Whats does select 787-9s mean?

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Brady Guest

I think Finnair‘s seats suck, and I am bummed that ANA has adopted this approach, which I really don’t think is comfortable for anyone other than: (1) a petite person or (2) a person lying down. The Finnair seat was excruciating on a long-haul flight because there was nothing between upright and an actual full recline. There were two positions on these non-mechanical seats: (1) sitting upright, with the seat edge approximately mid-thigh (for a 6-foot tall man) with the shoulder seatbelt *exactly* where one would naturally put one’s head, or (2) lying flat with one’s head in the prior passenger's fart zone. These non-reclining seats are, in my opinion, a low-rent away for airlines to pretend they're catering to passengers,while actually sacrificing their comfort — with an eye toward lower mechanical expenses on seat maintenance.

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Watson Diamond

1. The success or failure of this product will depend almost solely on the footwell size. Will side sleepers be able to fit their feet in? Will men have their balls crushed between their thighs? 2. When tf are they going to finish the 77W retrofit? I swear they've had only 2 or 3 planes to go for years now (and they always seem to get stuck on the SFO route).

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Jj Guest

Ben -- is the term "mid-size aircraft" an actual specification or is it marketing speak? The categories I'm used to seeing are narrow vs widebody. I know my planes fairly well but if a 789 is "midsize" I'd have no clue where to draw the line between that and "full size" or whatever comes next.

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