Air New Zealand’s planned debut of Skynest stacked sleeping berths in ultra-long-haul economy class is delayed, but management expects the first-of-its-kind product to launch on a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2025.
That’s good news for economy class passengers craving a lie-flat nap in a proper bed on the carrier’s ultra-long-haul flights between New Zealand and North America.
Celebrating a decade of Dreamliner service, the Auckland-based carrier currently operates 14 Boeing 787-9s and has orders in the books for eight more 787s.
“In 2025, we’re expecting the delivery of our first new Dreamliner from Boeing. Our first aircraft will include our new interior products and will have the added bonus of the highly anticipated Skynest,” says Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty in a statement.
“We know our customers are eagerly anticipating the next evolution of our Dreamliners and we can’t wait for them to experience our most innovative aircraft to date.”
Indeed, some travelers reckon Skynest will be the best thing to happen to long-haul coach travel in decades.
In a recent interview with Travel Age West, Air New Zealand’s general manager for the Americas, Ben Evers-Swindell, provided color around when Skynest will break cover, saying: “We’re launching Skynest on our brand-new Dreamliner that, all going well, we’ll be taking delivery of late next year. It will be a special configuration that’s designed for ultra-long-haul flying on our Auckland to New York service.”
This 787 delivery schedule is in sync with management’s February update to investors (PDF), which sees the carrier taking two 787s in its 2026 fiscal year (FY begins 1 July 2025). Aiding the Skynest program, ST Engineering last year revealed on LinkedIn that it had inked a LOI with Air New Zealand to help the carrier add Skynest via a retrofit program.
A capsule monument situated between the premium economy and economy cabins, Air New Zealand’s Skynest is a Crystal Cabin Award-winning product that features six sleeping pods in a triple bunk.
Each pod will include personal ventilation, a reading light, bedding with a full-size pillow, ear plugs, a USB port, and special lighting designed for rest, and can in time be booked for one four-hour session for roughly NZ$400-$600, that is at least the price point being mulled by management.
The product was expected to debut on 787 flights from Auckland to New York and Chicago from September of this year.
Meanwhile, in the nearer time, Air New Zealand is gearing up for a nose-to-tail retrofit of an in-service 787-9, including with its previously-revealed Business Premier cabin product, new Premium Economy seat, “and updated product throughout Economy”, says Geraghty.
Pertinent to the carrier’s decade-long operation of the 787, she says the twinjet has been a “crucial aircraft in the expansion of our network” and that its fuel efficiency makes it the “perfect aircraft for ultra-long-haul travel”.
More than 11 million passengers have already experienced Air New Zealand’s Dreamliner experience.
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All images credited to Air New Zealand
