Look for a new business class seat flying on Air New Zealand in the months ahead. It includes an option dubbed “Business Premier Luxe” at the front of the business class cabin.
Air New Zealand
Air-to-ground networking coming in New Zealand
New Zealand could be the next country to bring a dedicated air-to-ground (ATG) in-flight connectivity network online. Engineering work is almost complete to develop a trial site for the SkyFive ATG platform in the country.
Cutting connections: Reviewing the connected aircraft retirements
Hundreds of aircraft rapidly retired from service. Hundreds more shifted into limbo, unclear of when they might fly again. The news no longer surprises, though some of the retirements bring about a sense of loss. For inflight connectivity vendors the impact is more than a sense of loss, however, as it maps to real revenue shortfalls with the aircraft removed from service.
Air travel is bouncing back: Can the trend hold??
The restart is on. While the past few weeks have seen offerings and traffic slowly begin to rise this week the pace is clearly shifting, with the US and Europe hitting a number of milestones.
Slivers of normalcy: Air New Zealand lounges reopening
Demand for air travel is up significantly in New Zealand, though still massively below 2019 levels. And now some passengers will have a slightly more comfortable travel experience as the carrier’s airport lounge network begins to reopen.
Fighting for the middle: A pandemic seating shift
Forget the fight over who gets the arm rests; middle seats on planes are now generating real fights over if they should be occupied at all. And airlines are fueling the flames with misleading marketing messaging.
Air New Zealand extends its range with Newark in 2020
Air New Zealand will add a new longest route to its network map in October 2020 as the carrier connects its Auckland home to Newark. The news also brings an end to the carrier’s 38 year run at London.
Sunrise Stretch: PaxEx Update 2019-10-18
The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
Air New Zealand’s first Dreamliner now online
Air New Zealand’s connected aircraft collection expanded to its 787 Dreamliner fleet this week. Aircraft ZK-NZF returned to commercial service after spending the month of June in the shop for the installation and certification of the kit. Like the rest of the carrier’s connected fleet the 787 is online via the GX Aviation satellite solution from Inmarsat.
Grand Kiwi Dream(liner)s
Air New Zealand will acquire eight new 787-10 Dreamliners as part of its fleet upgrade program. The new aircraft will arrive beginning in 2022, continuing through 2027. The long-expected order will see the new aircraft replace the carrier’s existing 777-200 fleet.