Things in the Sky

For the past couple of days there has been plenty of buzz about what Air New Zealand’s new seats would be look like, especially the rumored beds in coach. Well, the airline revealed all the details yesterday, and I think the changes live up to the hype. There are some improvements in business as well, though the big changes are in economy and premium economy.

First, let’s look at what everyone’s been talking about – the new Skycouch. When the product was still being rumored, one big question was how the airline could do beds in economy without taking up too much space. Have you ever used a row of empty seats as a mock bed before? Well, that’s sort of what Air New Zealand is doing, except much nicer. The legrests come all the way up to be even with the seat, making a nice wide bed for couples.

The beg might be a bit tight for those who are a bit tall the three seats together is less than five feet long. But heck, this is pretty damn awesome for economy. Those interested in buying a Skycouch will buy two seats at regular price, and the third at half price.

Overall, there will be 22 Skycouches in the first 11 rows of economy where the rows of the seats are next to windows, so the cabin wall acts as a headboard of sorts.

Premium economy is also getting a nice upgrade, with Air New Zealand’s new Spaceseat in a 2-2-2 layout (it’s currently 3-3-3). I really like hte new “Inner Space” seat (pictured below), which is great for traveling companions who would like to share meals, for example. The “Outer Space” seats will offer more privacy for single travelers.

The carrier seems really optimistic about this class, as the new 777-300ERs will have 28% more seating than the current 747-400 fleet. The airline’s Sims remarked, “Our Premium Economy cabin has shown itself to be recession proof, with demand continuing to rise since its introduction in 2005.”

The inflight entertainment system will also be seeing some upgrades, and Air New Zealand says it will be introducing “a new digital in-seat ordering service,” that seems a lot like Virgin America’s RED system. The airline will also introduce “new oven technology that will cook food from scratch rather than simply reheating.”

Anyway, on to the big question – when will we start seeing these new offerings in service? Well, the new product will be on the new 777-300ERs that begin arriving in November (Air New Zealand has ordered five of the type), and will first be used on flights 5 and 6 between Auckland and Los Angeles. Upgrades of the eight 777-200 aircraft will begin mid-2011, with the airline predicting that “all Asian, North American and UK services to have the new product by around 2012.” The 747s won’t be seeing these upgrades, but the 777-300ERs are replacing those aircraft anyway.

I think these changes are really innovative. So does Air New Zealand. Which is why the Skycouch and Spaceseat “have been licensed to manufacturers Recaro and Contour respectively and have the potential to generate significant license fees for Air New Zealand in the future,” according to Ed Sims, Air New Zealand Group General Manager International Airline.

Meanwhile, “Cranky Flier” Brett Snyder was in Auckland for the official Air New Zealand press event, and has a bunch of his own pictures and videos showing off the new seats, which you can check out here.

Air New Zealand also has a great YouTube video outlining the changes. A website outlining the new offerings has also been created, though it won’t go live until next week.