Air New Zealand’s 787-9 Dreamliner retrofit: CEO Greg Foran on a big investment, top job

The Air New Zealand Dreamliner’s new hard-shell seat set-up needs more than the push of a button. You need to move your backside to get it working properly.

And the airline has had to move a lot to get the $490 million Dreamliner retrofit across the line.

It may seem incredible that the 787-9 retrofit project started in 2018, but Covid-related delays did much to push the completion date out.

“Those first couple of years, you’re thinking about designs and what new products you might want to put on,” Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said this morning.

He hadn’t even started at the airline back then but joined in late 2019.

“And then of course we had Covid in 2020, so we needed to get ourselves through that.”

Economy class in the refurbished cabin. Photo / Michael Craig

He said the Dreamliner project was unusual in that retrofits normally happened on receiving aircraft from manufacturers, not years later.

Several hundred people were involved in the project in recent years.

The overhauled cabins feature Skynest sleeping pods but Foran said close attention was paid to a better sleep experience right through the 272-seater aircraft.

The Business Premier Luxe should allow passengers to get a decent night's sleep, the airline says. Photo / Air NZ

Foran said many Dreamliner flights were overnight, especially those heading east across the Pacific to the US.

The four Business Premier Luxe seats right at the front have some novel features.

“In each of the retrofits, there’s a set of four seats right at the very front of business class that have exactly the same seat, but a bit of extra space in here, enough space that you can quite comfortably dine for two.”

The Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9s have been retrofitted with all-new cabin interiors, including new Business Premier Luxe. It's the first time in more than 15 years Air NZ has had a new product on board. Photo / Michael Craig

Galleys and lavatories have been refreshed too.

At $35 million per aircraft, the total cost of retrofitting the airline’s existing Dreamliners is about $490m.

But it had been many years since the airline invested in a comparable product, Foran said.

“The same way that we’re seeing lots of advancement in many digital aspects of our lives, you’re going to see those same same things come to life on an airplane.”

All passengers, if they want to, will be able to use mobile devices to operate as remote controls and replicate screen content.

As for the hard shell, it lets premium economy passengers tilt their seats back without impacting the person behind them.

What’s next for Foran?

Foran’s resignation was announced on March 6.

Air New Zealand’s market capitalisation is just a fraction of heavyweights such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Meridian Energy and Auckland Airport.

But the airline’s chief executives for decades have been household names. Foran’s predecessors were Christopher Luxon, Rob Fyfe and Sir Ralph Norris.

Hangar 4 under construction at Auckland Airport. Photo / John Weekes

Foran won’t step down until October, by which time he would have been at the airline almost six years.

“That’s about time for me to hand the reins on to the next person,” he said today.

“We’ve done a lot during that period. Some of it we’re, we’re sitting on today.”

He said at this stage he was undecided on what he might do after October – but was looking forward to another challenge.

For now, the retrofit was a major focus and the airline had new aircraft on the way and a new hangar.

Eight more Dreamliners have been ordered and the airline also has Airbus A320neos and A321neos on order.

It also had two short-haul ATR 72-600 turboprops on order.

The new maintenance hangar, known as Hangar 4, is close to where the Dreamliner was parked today.

It too had Covid-related delays but is due to open in the third quarter of this year.

John Weekes is a senior business reporter covering aviation. He was previously online business editor and has covered courts, politics, breaking news and consumer affairs.