Hainan Airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with premium economy class is entering service with a new cabin layout that also features an upgraded business class.
The new cabins debut with a new interior two years in the making in partnership with UK design firm Priestman Goode.
The new “Dream Feather” theme embodies the idea of a “dream transformed into a flying feather”, according to the Chinese airline.
The simplified feather pattern has been applied to the brand-board and furnishings such as wallcoverings, partitions, curtains, seating and floors.
It is also being adopted on the ground.
Hainan’s new premium economy cabin features 21 seats with a 38-inch seat pitch in a 2-3-2 layout.
The Rockwell Collins MIQ seats have a 22.5-inch seat width with a 7-inch recline, four-way adjustable headrest, three storage options and a 13-inch high definition touchscreens screens.
Each seat has an iPad bracket along with a power socket and USB charging port.
Business class moves to a 1-2-1 reveres herringbone layout which offers aisle access to every seat and seat pitch increased from 42 inches to 46 inches.
The seats come with five storage options and the red color scheme has been replaced with “champagne gold” fabric with a leather headrest. The business seats also feature an 18-inch high definition monitor connected to the Panasonic EX3 entertainment system.
An upgrade in economy sees Recaro’s CL3170 seat equipped with a seven-way adjustable headrest, ergonomically-designed back support and an upper book and newspaper holder to increase legroom.
The cabin is in a 3-3-3 configuration with a 32-inch seat pitch.
The first routes to see the new cabin will include flights from Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as well as services from the Chinese capital to North America.
Hainan was founded in 1993 in Hainan Province and is China’s biggest privately run air transport group.
At the end of June 2018, Hainan Airlines and its subsidiaries operated more than 400 aircraft from 24 bases on routes throughout China as well as destinations in other parts of Asia, Europe, North America and the South Pacific.
HNA Group recently agreed to sell one of those subsidiaries, Hong Kong Express, to Cathay Pacific.
READ: Cathay Buys low-cost carrier Hong Kong Express.
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