Baden Smith: Air NZ General Manager of Strategy, Networks and Fleet on the airline's Dreamliners receiving a makeover

Long-awaited improvements to Air New Zealand's Dreamliner cabins are set to get under way.

New seats, new carpets, new screens and new Business Premier cabins are among the features customers can expect after the planes get retrofitted in Singapore.

The airline's General Manager of Strategy, Networks and Fleet, Baden Smith, says the upgrades will make better use of the space and give customers more comfort.

"It basically has a bit more privacy and a little bit more space and a little bit more storage up there."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In New Zealand's Dreamliner is going to get a makeover.
New seats, new carpets, new curtains, new screens, new business
premieer cabin. They've got fourteen of these things are being
sent one by one to Singapore for the makeover over
the next two years.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Baden Smith is a New Zealand's general manager of Strategy
Networks in fleet. Hey Baidenhi have Hey, So how different
is it going to look?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Oh? Look at There's going to be a number of changes.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
We have an entirely new business class cabin with new
seats up there and a new product at the front.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Of the plane.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
We've got new premium economy seats, new economy seats, a
new and flight entertainment system and some big changes with
some of the soft furnishings as well.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
So it'll be a pretty major makeover.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Are you going to ditch the herring bone seating that
you've got in business.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Where the current seat will be going? It will be
a new seat that has a very small side facing
element to it, but certainly not as wait.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
If you go to business in other airlines like maybe
Quantus of Fig Airlines or whatever, you just have the
two seats sitting next to each other facing forward. Are
you saying you're not doing the facing forward? You're still
doing a bit of an angle.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
A little bit a little bit of an angle.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
But it's the right thing to do in terms of
making sure that we've got the most comfort that we
can get on the seat and making use of the
space which is at a premium on an aircraft.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Did I see that you've got some new seats A
business luck seat.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Business Lucks.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
What's that?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Yeah, Premier Lux. So that's at the very front row.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
There's four seats on this aircraft that will be Bensin's
Premier Lux, which is has a few extra sort of
features about it and a little bit more space for
those lucky customers.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
What are the other features?

Speaker 2 (01:42):
What's that? Sorry?

Speaker 1 (01:43):
What are the other features?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
The other features are?

Speaker 3 (01:46):
It's basically has a bit more privacy and a little
bit more space and a bit more stowage up there.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay, now, how have you ended up then with fewer
seats across the plane because it goes from it goes
down to two hundred and seventy two from.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
What well, we've got two different configurations currently, there's a
three hundred and two seat configuration and a two hundred
and seventy five seat configuration. So the first thing is
is that the three hundred and two seat configurations are
the first ones that are going in for this overhaul.
They're going to have many more premium seats than the

(02:20):
ones that are going in when they come out. And
the two hundred and seventy five seat configuration is going
to two seventy two as well, So it'll end up
across the fourteen to seven sevens that we've currently got
just one configuration, but generally more premium seats than we
have today.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
And so are you still going to have the kind
of like the neon pink and purples and blues and
stuff and there are you changing the color scheme?

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Oh, the color schemes for us are pretty important and
they've been worked on and they'll be ever so slightly
different to this new aircraft and I think that will
be pretty exciting.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Oh cool, bad can't wait to see it. Thanks mate, appreciate.
It's Baden Smith from in New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
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