Air New Zealand takes delivery of 787-9 with new cabin configuration offering more premium seats

Air New Zealand announced (09-Oct-2017) the first of its refreshed Boeing 787-9s (tail number ZK-NZL) arrived in Auckland. The aircraft features a new cabin configuration increasing the number of 'Business Premier' seats from 18 to 27 and 'Premium Economy' seats from 21 to 33. The new aircraft is Air New Zealand's tenth 787-9. The carrier's next four 787 deliveries will be in the same configuration, in response to growing demand for premium travel. The aircraft is scheduled to enter service on 15-Oct-2017, operating a service to Sydney. It will be deployed onto the Auckland-Houston route in Dec-2017, the first time a 787 will regularly service one of Air New Zealand's North American routes. [more - original PR]