Last year, LATAM announced it would refit roughly two thirds of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet with new cabin interiors, including new customized doored Recaro R7 mini-suites in Premium Business class and an updated Panasonic Avionics inflight entertainment system with high-definition screens from nose to tail.

With four 787s now flying with the new interiors, and LATAM seeing a significant improvement in Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a result, the Latin American powerhouse is providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how this retrofit project came together.

“This level of detail is rarely shared — but after nearly five years of work, we’re pulling back the curtain on what it takes to transform a Boeing 787-8 cabin, from vision to certified flight,” Paulo Miranda, vice president of customers at LATAM Airlines Group, says in a post on LinkedIn.

“A single business class seat can easily cost over $100K USD, depending on configuration. Now imagine certifying dozens — across a fleet.”

Kicking off the project in 2020, LATAM launched feasibility studies to define the passenger experience and address potential constraints. A year later, during the height of the Covid pandemic, a request for proposals (RFP) was issued for seats, systems and design. And by July 2021, seat mock-ups were being tested at LATAM’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

“Teams simulated 12-hour flights — daytime, nighttime, onboard service, all details — and collected real feedback, and refined the concept,” Miranda explains, and in November 2021, the program was approved by management.

A few months later, after cross-functional design integration was agreed, LATAM held detailed design reviews to finalize all components — seats, IFE screens (including 18″ displays in business class), lighting and wiring.

The decision was taken to configure each doored R7 mini-suite in a honeymoon-divorce layout, whereby alternating rows have seats immediately next to each other versus immediately next to the aisle. LATAM opted not to offer a proper Premium Economy section, instead relying on an Economy Plus product which provides extra legroom, increased recline, footrests, and a dedicated overhead luggage compartment.

LATAM’s design partner PriestmanGoode, which previously assisted with LATAM’s Boeing 777 interiors, helped to shape “the overall cabin look and flow” on the 787, says Miranda, and seat workshops then addressed the soft furnishings, defining every color, texture, material, and stitch.

In October 2022, during the critical design review (CDR), LATAM froze the design and moved forward with full production. This was a “huge emotional and technical milestone,” Miranda confides, “you feel it in your gut!”

After the first certified parts were built and approved, the First Article Inspection (FAI) took place in November 2023. A year later, LATAM executed on its first prototype aircraft modification in collaboration with key safety regulators including the US Federal Aviation Administration, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EAS), Brazil’s aviation safety authority ANAC and Chile’s DGAC.

Nearly five years after initiating the project, and four years after the first RFP was published, LATAM celebrated the first flight of its upgraded 787-8 cabin in April of this year.

“Customers are loving it,” says  Miranda, revealing that its cabin Net Promoter Score is “up by 30 points.”

The retrofit program covers 24 aircraft — ten Boeing 787-8s operating international and domestic flights from Chile, and 14 Boeing 787-9s, operating both international and domestic flights in Chile, Brazil, and Peru — and is expected to last through 2026. It represents a $360 million investment by LATAM.

LATAM could see its NPS scores improve again, as the Group has just announced plans to bring Viasat’s multi-orbit capable Ka-band satellite-powered inflight connectivity system to its widebody fleet, including the 787s.

While LATAM has offered Intelsat 2Ku-based inflight Wi-Fi for years on Airbus narrowbodies, management hadn’t defined a plan for the widebodies — until now.

“The implementation of the new connectivity service on widebody aircraft, aimed at further enhancing the passenger travel experience, adds to other key projects such as the retrofit program for all cabins in this fleet and the introduction of new business suites, consolidating a value proposition focused on comfort, personalization, and onboard technology,” LATAM Group says in a statement.

Related Articles: 

• LATAM touts GEO/LEO as it turns to Viasat Wi-Fi for widebodies
• Viasat details Amara nextgen inflight connectivity strategy
• LATAM plumps for Recaro R7, honeymoon layout in new 787 business
• Recaro adds front-row, quality-of-life features and A330 version of R7
• Recategorising business suites into the mini-suite and maxi-suite
• Press Release: ABC International delivers cabin branding to LATAM

All images credited to LATAM