Surprise? No. Just overdue maintenance of pride. Air New Zealand dropped news yesterday about its Boeing 777s. New business class. Starting 2027. It isn’t the same stuff going into their 787s though. Which might actually be for the better.
The Details
Let’s talk specs. Seven frames in total. All getting the Collins Aerospace Elevation treatment. Reverse herringbone layout. Doors. Finally.
44 seats total. 43 inches of pitch. Every single seat hits the aisle. Privacy matters so the center seats get sliding dividers too. Screens are 18 inches. Bluetooth audio works. USB-A. USB-C. But don’t bother with your MagSafe or wireless pad, those ports don’t exist here.
They want to start the retrofit on the first bird in March 2027. Hope is to have it flying by May.
Let’s keep expectations grounded. Interior projects delay. Always.
Total capacity stays at 342. The math gets slightly tweaked for space though. They are ripping out two premium economy spots. Adding two back to economy. Someone needs room to move these heavier chairs.
Why This Matters
Jeremy O’Brien from the airline called the old seats “serving us exceptionally well.” He’s selling hard. The cabin is getting a facelift to match their “world-class Kiwi service.” He talks about reducing maintenance demands. Old cabins break. New ones just need cleaning.
The real win is comfort.
Current seats on these 777s are rough. Purpose-built long haul chairs should do more than this. The existing herringbone setup feels clunky compared to modern standards. The new setup fixes that. It puts them back in the competitive league. Even if it’s not cutting-edge futuristic tech. It just works.
Here’s the weird part though. Why the split personality?
They are installing a different business class product on the 787. The 777 gets the Collins doors. The 787 gets a custom build… without doors.
That logic escapes me. The 777 is wider than the 787 anyway. No physical constraint forced their hand. And frankly, the off-the-shelf 777 upgrade feels superior. At least the passengers there get a door to shut on the world. The 787 flyers will have to settle for proximity and hope nobody snatches their snack.
Inconsistency feels messy for a brand obsessed with quality. But sometimes practical beats poetic.
“Our current Business Premier and Economy cabins… time is right to raise the bar.”
The bar was on the floor. Now it’s mid-thigh. That’s progress.
The Takeaway
The refresh is happening. It’s better than what we have. The lack of doors on the Dreamliners compared to the door-heavy 777 upgrade is baffling but here we are.
We wait.
And maybe we complain when May becomes August.
