It's no big secret Air New Zealand is looking to upgrade its premium cabin product on its fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Air New Zealand's CEO Greg Foran referred to the refurbishments as recently as February, anticipating the upgrades to start sometime after 2023. But exactly what Air New Zealand premium class passengers can expect then has remained a secret - until now.

Air New Zealand's future 787-9 business class seat

In a Securities Exchange Commission regulatory filing earlier this week first reported by Seth Miller at PaxEx.aero, Air New Zealand has revealed some details about its future business class cabin on its 14 Dreamliners. The airline was obliged to let US authorities know how passengers with limited mobility could get in and out of the seats if they wanted permission to operate the refurbished planes to the US - which Air New Zealand definitely does. In a letter accompanying the filing, the airline said,

"Air New Zealand is requesting this determination for the Standard Business Premier and Business Premier Luxe seats on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Air New Zealand will be configuring is Business Class cabin to incorporate these new seats."

What's getting Air New Zealand fans all hot and sweaty under the collar is the addition of a row of Business Premier Luxe seats at the front of the Business Premier cabin. There's extra floor space (which Air New Zealand highlighted for mobility reasons) and mentions of a process to "remove the suite door" and flip up the ottoman. The filing reads,

"The ottoman base has a hinge that allows part of the base to be lifted into an upright position thus creating more space for ease of transfer. One crew member unlatches and removes the outer panel, revealing the suite door underneath. To remove the suite door, the crew member moves the door aft and then unhinges it from the wall paneling of the suite."

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Seat map of the future Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 business class cabins. Source: Air New Zealand

A bigger business class cabin with suite doors

Air New Zealand's current business class seat has its fans and its critics. They currently have no doors (the lack of privacy is one complaint Air New Zealand gets about its current 787-9 business class product) and no Business Premier Luxe product. Airlines like JetBlue and Malaysia Airlines already offer a business class plus product in their business class cabins on selected aircraft. Air New Zealand looks like it is replicating this model. Presumably, the Business Premier Luxe product will be available gratis to Air New Zealand's limited mobility business class passengers while everyone else can pony up some cash or points for the upgrade.

Air New Zealand's future 787-9 business class cabin is also much bigger than the existing business class cabin. There'll be 42 seats in a 1-2-1 layout. Air New Zealand's biggest 787-9 business class cabin now flies 27 passengers. The seat diagram also shows a premium economy cabin, so presumably, the number of economy class seats will shrink.

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An Air New Zealand employee with a mockup of the Business Premier Plus suite. Source: Air New Zealand

A galley will divide the business class cabin into two sub cabins, with 26 seats in the forward cabin and 16 seats in the smaller aft cabin. Regardless of which business class cabin you sit in, the seat will convert into an 80.25" lie flat bed. The seats will be 20.5″ wide and feature a pitch of 45". The filing indicates the seats will be aligned at 24 degrees from the longitudinal aircraft centerline. The seat looks very similar to the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond herringbone product.

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An image reveals a mocked up Air New Zealand Business Class Plus suite. Source: Air New Zealand

Still a way to go says Air New Zealand

"This is a very early submission and as part of the process, we are required to get approval from authorities such as the US Department of Transport to ensure the seats meet the latest design and safety requirements specified. It is also the same process we went through to seek approval for the Business Premier lie-flat bed in 2013," says Air New Zealand's Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty in a statement.

"To date more than 80,000 design and engineering hours have gone into the new Business Premier seats, along with 18 months of customer research and testing, so by no means is this the extent of what we’re doing. When we do have confirmed details to share, we look forward to doing so."

Air New Zealand provided images of the future Business Premier Luxe seat in the SEC filing but notes they are mockups photographed in Air New Zealand's research and development facilities in Auckland.

Source: PaxEx.Aero