Almost ten years after introducing the horizontal seat-bed to the Japanese market, All Nippon Airways unveils its latest product innovations for business customers. The Japanese airline presented the 11 July its two new classes beforedesigned with the architect Kengo Kuma. The business class, dubbed "The Roomintends to establish itself as " one of the largest business class environments in the world, with a wide sofa twice as wide as previous business class seats" according to the company. Like the QSuite from Qatar AirwaysANA is also opting for modularity for groups of business travellers. The Room is equipped with flexible partitions, which can be arranged to share the space with other travel companions, particularly for meetings at altitude.
As for the luckiest passengers in first class, the new "The Suite" cabin is also equipped with doors to ensure maximum privacy. In terms of technology, the 43 inches is the world's first 4K personal monitor on a commercial airliner.
In addition to these new front classes, the makeover initiated by ANA will also extend to Premium and Economy classes, thanks in particular to the upgrading of in-flight entertainment systems and headrests, following on from the improvements made to the carrier's Boeing 787-10s.
To maximise the space offered to passengers, those responsible for this transformation had to make choices: " The design process is as much about what we choose to include as what we choose to exclude "underlines Kengo Kuma. " My job is to understand how space is used and to create the most comfortable conditions in any environment. I have enjoyed working with ANA and Acumen to combine the best of Eastern and Western design traditions and create a finished product that sets a global standard by embracing Japanese heritage and an international perspective. "continues the Japanese architect.
Twelve devices will initially be fitted with this new equipment, all of which comes from the fleet of Boeing 777-300ER. These will feature 8 seats in First Class 'The Suite', 64 in Business Class 'The Room', 24 in Premium Eco and 116 in Economy. The first of ANA's redesigned aircraft will take to the skies on 2 August between Tokyo Haneda and London, but it will be the end of the month - or even the beginning of September - before all flights on the route are affected by these new features.
