Yann Arnould
- 17/06/2025
Yann Arnould
17/06/2025
At the 2025 Paris Air Show, All Nippon Airways (ANA) unveiled “THE Room FX”, its new Business Class seat designed for selected Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Flightreviews.net had the opportunity to preview this new product during its official reveal at the Safran stand. Here are our initial impressions from the ground, ahead of any in-flight testing.
Passengers familiar with ANA's acclaimed “THE Room” Business Class on the Boeing 777-300ER will immediately notice shared design elements: full-height sliding privacy doors, bold angular lines, and a clear focus on personal space. With THE Room FX, ANA retains this successful DNA, adapting it thoughtfully to the narrower cabin of the 787-9.
The result is a seat that maintains a strong sense of spaciousness despite the smaller airframe. The layout features alternating forward- and rear-facing seats in a staggered configuration, allowing efficient space utilization without compromising comfort. The privacy door – slightly slimmer than that on the 777 – still offers meaningful seclusion.
Visually, the seat showcases a minimalist, functional aesthetic. Clean lines, softened backrest curves, and lightweight structural elements reinforce the sense of space and practicality. Finishes are robust yet understated, reflecting ANA's commitment to providing a premium but purpose-driven long-haul product. Rather than a disruptive innovation, THE Room FX represents a well-calibrated adaptation of a proven design to meet the operational needs of the 787-9.
One of the standout features is the seat's “sofa mode”. By default, the seat is positioned in a slight recline, offering immediate comfort without requiring any adjustment. An adjustable leg rest further enhances this lounging position and ensures a seamless transition into a full-flat bed.
The seat itself is impressively spacious, measuring nearly two meters in length and over one meter in width, offering generous room to stretch out and shift positions freely. The concept promotes natural movement and flexibility – whether dining, reading, working, or resting, passengers can adapt their posture as they would in a living room setting. Its true potential will be confirmed during actual flights, particularly on longer sectors.
The redesigned side console now offers additional storage space for personal items. On the connectivity front, ANA delivers a contemporary setup, including USB-C ports, wireless charging, and Bluetooth audio – features increasingly expected by premium travelers.
The in-flight entertainment screen has also been expanded (1.4 times larger than current 787 screens, according to ANA), though its interface was not available for testing during the ground demonstration.
THE Room FX is set to debut in 2026 on long-haul routes operated by newly delivered Boeing 787-9 aircraft. A retrofit program is expected to begin in 2027 for part of the existing fleet.
It's worth noting that only long-haul configurations will feature this new seat; medium-haul and regional 787-9 aircraft are excluded from the rollout. ANA has not yet disclosed which destinations will be first to benefit or the precise implementation schedule.
THE Room FX represents a well-judged evolution of ANA's Business Class experience. It preserves the core strengths of privacy, space, and versatility, while adapting intelligently to the 787-9 platform.
It offers a clear improvement over the airline's current Business Class on this aircraft type. That said, only real-world operations will reveal how well the design holds up over long durations – particularly in terms of bed comfort, layout efficiency, and service flow.
With THE Room FX, ANA joins a growing movement among global carriers to integrate private doors and hybrid sofa-bed configurations on medium-capacity wide-bodies – a shift that appears set to define the next generation of premium travel.
Featured image by Yann Arnould / Flightreviews.net