Air Canada To Add Signature Plus Suites To Its Boeing 777s

Following the unveiling of the new cabins for its upcoming Boeing 787-10 aircraft, Air Canada has announced today that the new cabins will also be retrofitted onto the airline’s existing fleet of widebody aircraft. This would include older Boeing 777 airframes, along with other variants of the Dreamliner the carrier currently operates.

The airline’s ‘Glowing Hearted’ cabins, nose-to-tail retrofit, on the older aircraft will also feature the highly anticipated Signature Plus Business Studios and the new premium economy cabins on the 777s. With that being said, passengers will have to wait for a while before the first of the older aircraft are retrofitted and re-enter commercial service.

New Cabins Are Coming To Old Airframes

Earlier this year, Air Canada unveiled its Glowing Hearted cabin concepts, which were introduced on board the airline’s new Airbus A321XLR aircraft. Meanwhile, the upcoming 787-10 aircraft will be the first to feature these cabins on the airline’s long-haul fleet. The first of these Dreamliner variants is expected to be delivered to the airline later this year.

According to announcements published by Executive Traveller earlier today, the airline is now committed to bringing these new cabins to some of the airline’s existing widebody aircraft as well, indicating an upcoming cabin retrofit program. This includes the Boeing 777 aircraft the airline currently operates, along with the smaller -8 and -9 Dreamliner aircraft within Air Canada’s fleet.

Per Air Canada’s fleet page, this would see 65 of the carrier’s Boeing widebody aircraft retrofitted with the newest business class, premium economy, and economy class products. However, it is worth keeping in mind that there has not been any mention of the airline’s subfleet of 20 Airbus A330-300 airframes, which suggests these aircraft will not be receiving the new cabins. That being said, the existing Boeing widebody fleet will not be receiving these retrofits for quite some time.

Passengers Have To Wait Until 2029

Air Canada Boeing 777 flying across clear skies

Per the latest report, the first aircraft to be retrofitted with the new cabin is not expected to enter commercial service until 2029. This means any routes currently served by the existing 777s and the Dreamliner aircraft will not be seeing these brand-new cabins for at least the next three years before the retrofit is rolled out. With that being said, the airline already took delivery of its first A321XLR in April, and the first of its 787-10 order is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

This means, in the coming months and across the next two years, that the airline will be receiving 29 more A321XLRs and 14 787-10s, with brand-new cabins and onboard products. As such, ultimately, once the retrofit program is completed, the airline will have over 100 widebody and narrowbody aircraft within its fleet, featuring its latest products and amenities, elevating the customer experience.

Additionally, the airline recently placed a firm order for eight Airbus A350-1000 aircraft (plus options for another eight), which Air Canada is expecting to start receiving in 2030. The carrier has confirmed that these aircraft will also feature the new cabins being introduced this year. This is indicative of how the airline is chronologically and gradually introducing the new cabins starting this year and into the following decade.

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The Signature Plus Business Studios

Signatrue Plus Studio Air Canada 787-10 render

These studios are essentially the four seats in the very first row of the business class cabin. Because of its location, seats within this area are generally more spacious, which is why the carrier designed these suites with additional space, featuring companion seats, more storage space, and higher privacy walls.

Additionally, the two studio suites in the middle can also be reconfigured to allow up to four passengers (main seat + companion seats of the two studios) to socialize in flight by retracting the partitions between the studios. These four suites will also offer a larger 2m (78.7 in) long bed, along with 27-inch, 4K OLED In-Flight Entertainment seat-back screens.

While the business studios are not available on the narrowbody A321XLRs, the premium cabin still offers lie-flat beds with the seats configured in a 1-1 layout. This ensures an elevated customer experience for passengers flying on long journeys despite traveling on a narrowbody aircraft.