Air New Zealand’s Skynest™ has taken out a top international award for showing significant innovation in its future cabin design at the Crystal Cabin Awards in Hamburg overnight. The Crystal Cabin Award is the only international award for excellence in aircraft interior innovation with Air New Zealand winning the Innovative Cabin Concept category.

Air New Zealand Head of Aircraft Programmes Kerry Reeves was in Hamburg to accept the award on behalf of the airline. “It’s an incredibly proud moment for us to receive this award. Air New Zealanders come to work everyday and challenge each other to think differently and the Skynest™ is a perfect example of this mindset in action.

“On the scale of airlines around the world we’re a small player – so innovating, listening to our customers and producing products that push the boundaries is how we stand out and compete on a global scale. “The development of the Skynest™ has been a labour of love. As it’s a world-first there are plenty of hoops we need to jump through and problems we need to solve, but the popularity and excitement around it coming to market is what keeps us going.

“We can’t wait for our customers to experience it in action in September 2024 when we welcome the first of our new 787-9 into Aotearoa.” Air New Zealand also picked up the Onboard Hospitality Cabin Concept of the Year Award for its innovative FACE programme (Future Aircraft Cabin Experience). The award looks at the very best in cabin-wide innovation from airlines around the globe, with the airline taking out the award for redefining the future of its onboard customer experience with a focus on the future and its ‘Manaaki – taking care further’ brand promise.

The airline is no stranger to the Crystal Cabin Awards, winning the Greener Cabin, Health, Safety and Environment category in 2019 for the Economy Skycouch™.