Air New Zealand has undertaken its first cabin refurbishment of a Boeing 787-9 aircraft (registration: ZK-NZH).
The aircraft underwent a 184-day interior renewal in Singapore, returning to Auckland on April 17. The plan involves refurbishing a total of 14 aircraft, with the second one already undergoing work in Singapore. Seven aircraft are expected to be refurbished within this year, with the entire fleet slated for completion by the end of 2026.
In addition to the new business class ‘Business Premier Luxe,’ all cabin classes have received updated seating, as well as new carpets, curtains, and wallpapers. The seating configuration includes 4 seats for ‘Business Premier Luxe,’ 22 for Business Premier, 33 for Premium Economy Class, 13 Economy Skycouch, and 213 for standard Economy Class, totaling 272 seats.
The development period took 18 months, during which 2,500 hours of customer testing were conducted before carrying out the cabin upgrades. The aircraft is scheduled to begin operation in mid-May.
