In July 2014, Air New Zealand received their first 787-9 aircraft. Not only was it a big celebration for them as an airline but they were also the launch customer of the aircraft. The 787-9 has been a very important aircraft for the carrier as it replaces the 767 which retired in March of this year. The aircraft currently operates services from Auckland to Honolulu, Buenos Aires, Ho Chi Minh City, Nadi, Papeete, Perth, Rarotonga, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita & soon Haneda, Denpasar and Adelaide.

The aircraft currently has a configuration of 18 Business Class seats, 21 Premium Economy seats and 263 Economy seats.

Airlineroute.com is reporting that Air New Zealand will soon have a new configuration on the 787. It’s not stated if this is for all 9 aircraft the airline currently has, or if the new config will be for select aircraft on the more premium routes but what is known is that the aircraft will be replacing the 777-200ER on the Houston leg from the 8th of December. The airline also has two more of the aircraft yet to be delivered. 

The new configuration will have 27 Business Class seats instead of the current 18.

The aircraft will also have 33 Premium Economy seats instead of the current 21.

And lastly, there will surprisingly be fewer Economy seats onboard with 215 instead of the current 263.

Overall the changes aren’t massive and it will benefit both the Premium passengers having more seats available and it’ll also benefit Economy passengers which will hopefully get more space and legroom.

All images courtesy of Air New Zealand