Yesterday, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot officially unveiled the interior of its newly retrofitted Boeing 777 and its new business class product featuring the popular Collins Aerospace Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats. Let's take a closer look at the new cabin and how it differs from Aeroflot's current offerings.

Grand welcome party and unveiling

The first retrofitted Boeing 777 has joined Aeroflot's fleet as the Russian flag carrier moves to position itself as a five-star premium airline. The arrival of the plane from Everett via Hong Kong was celebrated with a reception featuring a DJ. Part of the proceedings and shots of the new interior were shared via a short film on the airline's social media accounts.

The aircraft of the occasion and first out with the new cabin is VQ-BFN. With its 1.4-years, it is the youngest 777-300ER of the Aeroflot Triple Seven fleet and named after the late Soviet and Russian author Daniil Granin. It was officially delivered to the airline in February this year. The plane was then ferried from Boeing's Everett facilities to Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok, where it was stored until August 14th.

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The layout of the aircraft can accommodate 427 passengers. There are 28 Super Diamond business class seats, 24 in economy comfort, and 375 in the main cabin. This is a shift from the airline's current 777 configuration, which features 420 seats - 30 in business class, 48 in premium economy, and 324 in economy.

Big shifts in business with popular choice

The Collins Aerospace Super Diamond business class seats are a big step up from the airline's current Diamond seats from the same company. Moreover, the new cabin layout features a 1-2-1 configuration rather than the current 2-2-2.

The new reverse herringbone seats come with sliding doors for privacy. The suite is fitted with an extra armrest, as well as an 18.5-inch HD monitor. Aeroflot's new Super Diamond seats also turn into a fully lie-flat bed comfortably accommodating people up to two meters tall.

The Super Diamond has become a very popular choice with airlines for their premium cabin segments. Since first being introduced with Air Canada in the early 2010s, the iconic built-in seat control panels are now available on Qatar Airways' 787s and A350-900s, British Airways' A350-1000s, Egyptair's 787s, and Air China's A350-900s, among others.

Premium economy half the size

Meanwhile, a little further down the plane, Aeroflot has cut its premium economy precisely in half. Potentially, the airline has seen lower load factors than it would like in the cabin segment but has offered no official explanation for the pivot back towards prioritizing regular economy. However, the 2-4-2 configuration remains, and the seat pitch in the economy comfort section will be 38 inches, the same as before.

In the main economy cabin seat pitch will be 31.5 inches. The airline says that travelers in all classes will be able to enjoy the latest Panasonic Ex3 multimedia in-flight entertainment system, along with high-speed Internet access of up to 30 Ðœb/sec. Extra charges are applicable for the latter.

Two more by the end of the year

Aeroflot says it will operate the new plane on popular domestic and international routes, serving destinations including Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Mahe, Delhi, Yerevan, Bishkek, Baku, Tashkent, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The airline expects to have another two retrofitted Triple Sevens at its disposal by the end of 2021.

Cabin set to roll out across the fleet

A contract to retrofit 18 of Aeroflot's existing 777-300ERs was awarded to Boeing during the MAKS Air Show at Moscow's Zhukovsky Airport in 2019. At the time of the signing, Aeroflot's Chief Financial Officer Arkady Chikhanchin expressed the airline's enthusiasm over the new and improved cabin interior.

“Aeroflot is widely recognized as a premium service airline. Designing a new Boeing 777 interior, we aim to enhance our premium quality at every class of service – business, comfort, and economy. An updated interior will take Aeroflot to new heights.”

Stan Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Global Services, was also excited about his company's new assignment and said it was a great honor that the leading Russian carrier had selected Boeing solutions for the job.

Differences between the 777 and the A350

Meanwhile, Aeroflot has chosen different business class seats for the A350-900, of which it took delivery of its first in February last year. Instead of going for the Super Diamond seats, the airline turned to Collins Aerospace for a custom-built Horizon business class seat. Rather than reverse herringbone, these seats are staggered but also feature sliding doors for privacy and direct aisle access in a 1-2-1 configuration.

While the business classes may be different, the new cabins are part of Aeroflot's strategy to, if not unify, then streamline and upgrade its premium offerings. In July last year, the Aeroflot Group revealed its new mission to turn its mainline carrier into a five-star airline, focusing on premium and long-haul routes.

Meanwhile, subsidiary Rossiya Russian Airlines will focus on domestically built aircraft. The Group's successful low-cost carrier Pobeda will take over regional routes and nearly 50 Boeing 737s, some of which have already been transferred. However, the airline will not be taking the 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s it ordered in 2019, citing Russia's reluctance to recertify the plane as cause for the cancelation.

What do you think of Aeroflot's new 777-300 cabin? Have you flown in the Super Diamond seat with other airlines? Leave a comment in the section below and share your experience with other readers and us.