Air New Zealand makes middle seat more appealing

Air New Zealand is introducing a new economy class layout that could make the middle seat more appealing – or at least slightly less unappealing.

The new slimline seat design, which was unveiled this week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, will feature wider seats across the entire row. But the middle seats will be a full 3cm wider than at present, compared to a 1cm expansion for the aisle and window seats.

Air New Zealand said this was aimed at “ensuring a better sense of personal space across the row”.

The airline’s general manager for customer experience, Anita Hawthorne, revealed that the new seat design was created in response to customer feedback.

“The slightly wider middle seat helps balance out the fact that window and aisle seat customers enjoy a greater sense of space. We currently have many customers who state a preference for window or aisle seats and it’s possible the new design may see the middle seat get a boost in popularity,” Ms Hawthorne said.

“We believe what we’ve co-designed is not only practical from an operational perspective but importantly a more comfortable and spacious experience for our customers,” she added.

The new economy class seats, which were created by Acro Aircraft Seating, will be introduced on the airline’s single-aisle fleet, including its existing Airbus A320s and new A320neos. Air New Zealand has ordered 13 A320neo series aircraft, including the larger A321neo model, to replace its current A320 fleet.