ANZ economy upgrade

AIR New Zealand will introduce a premium economy section, luxury “lie flat” business-class sleeper seats and video-on-demand as part of a $NZ160 million ($145.5 million) upgrade of its long-haul aircraft.
The new two-class product, which will include new interior cabin linings and bathrooms, will make its debut next year, with upgrades to its fleet of Boeing 747s completed by early 2006.
The airline appears to be aiming for the same level of creature comforts as market leaders Singapore Airlines and Emirates.
Both airlines are building their presence in New Zealand and pitch their service levels at high-yield customers, such as corporate travellers.
Air NZ chief executive Ralph Norris said the airline’s new inflight product followed research with long-haul passengers over the past year.
“The look and feel of our cabin interiors, seats, inflight entertainment system and food and beverage services will set a benchmark for long-haul travel,” he said.
All three classes of travel will be able to choose from up to 780 hours of video content and play it when and how they want using video-on-demand.
The new Rockwell Collins system will deliver cached websites and 3-D location maps.
Air New Zealand will retain its generous 34-inch (86.3cm) economy-class seat pitch, providing about 5cm more leg room than standard international economy seats.
It will also introduce wider “super economy” seats with an extra recline and a seat pitch of 39-40 inches.
Passengers will pay about 20per cent extra for premium economy.
There will be 46 leather armchairs and ottomans in business class, which transform into a 202cmx84cm lie-flat bed.
The seats, co-developed and used by Virgin Atlantic, will be arranged in a herringbone pattern to give all passengers direct aisle access.
Other features will include an adjustable table that allows passengers to dine together, in-seat personal video, and a retractable cocktail table.