Air Canada’s new Signature Plus Suites won’t reach existing Boeing 777 and 787 flights until 2029. Here’s what U.S. travelers booking business class on those routes need to know right now.
Air Canada will retrofit 65 Boeing widebody jets with its new Glowing Hearted cabin design and Signature Plus Business Suites, but no retrofitted aircraft will return to commercial service until 2029.
The confirmation means U.S. travelers booking premium seats on the carrier’s existing Boeing 777 and 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliner routes today face at least a three-year wait before the airline’s new flagship suite product reaches those aircraft.
“Our 777 and 787 aircraft will be refurbished, but it will not happen until 2029, so the existing markets with those services will have to wait for a little bit,” said Kiyo Weiss, Air Canada’s senior director of sales for Asia Pacific, at a media event in Brisbane, Australia.
The announcement follows Air Canada’s unveiling of its Glowing Hearted design standard — the airline’s most comprehensive cabin overhaul to date — at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, on April 14. The airline described the new aesthetic as delivering “a distinctly Canadian experience rooted in comfort, care, and connection.”
What Are Air Canada’s Signature Plus Suites?
The Signature Plus Suites occupy the first row of the business class cabin on widebody aircraft. There are four per Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner — Air Canada’s first aircraft to carry the product when deliveries begin.
Each suite features a 2-meter (78.7-inch) fully lie-flat bed, a 27-inch 4K OLED seat-back screen, a quartzite stone-topped table, a dedicated guest seat, higher privacy walls, and expanded storage space.
The two center suites include a retractable sliding privacy panel that allows up to four passengers to open a shared social space at cruising altitude.
The remaining 38 of the 787-10’s 42 business class seats use the Elevate Ascent reverse herringbone platform in a 1-2-1 configuration, with 19-inch 4K OLED screens and lie-flat direct aisle access for every passenger.
When Can Passengers Access the Suites?
No Signature Plus Suites are currently in service. The first of Air Canada’s 14 Boeing 787-10s on firm order is expected to be delivered by the end of 2026.
Air Canada’s new Airbus A321XLR — the first of 30 aircraft on order, delivered April 24, 2026 — already carries the Glowing Hearted cabin design but does not include Signature Plus Suites. As a narrowbody, the A321XLR instead offers 14 lie-flat business class seats in a 1-1 configuration. The aircraft’s inaugural commercial service launched June 1, 2026, operating between Montréal and Toulouse, France.
Until retrofits begin, passengers on existing Boeing 777 and 787-8 and 787-9 routes will continue to encounter the airline’s current reverse herringbone Super Diamond business class product.
65 Jets Slated for Upgrade — but Not All of Them
The retrofit program covers all eight Boeing 787-8 and 32 Boeing 787-9 jets in Air Canada’s current fleet, as well as Boeing 777 aircraft expected to remain in service well into the 2030s.
The airline’s 20 Airbus A330-300s will not receive the Glowing Hearted upgrade. Air Canada’s executive vice president and chief operations officer, Mark Nasr, said in April that the carrier “absolutely plan[s] to reconfigure” existing planes to the new cabin standard — retrofitting its 787 fleet and “probably” the 777s — but not its Airbus A330s.
Air Canada has already reconfigured 18 of its 20 A330-300s with the current Super Diamond seat. The remaining two aircraft will receive that same configuration, and all 20 are expected to retire with their existing cabins.
A350-1000 Orders and a Longer Runway
Air Canada holds a firm order for eight Airbus A350-1000 jets — plus options for eight more — with first deliveries expected in the second half of 2030. The carrier confirmed those aircraft will carry the Glowing Hearted cabin standard.
Once new deliveries and the retrofit program are complete, the airline expects more than 100 widebody and narrowbody aircraft to feature its latest cabin products.
Beyond seating, Nasr told View from the Wing in April that a broader soft product overhaul — covering food and beverage, digital tools, lounge experience, and service delivery — would be announced by summer 2026 and rolled out fleet-wide.
Air Canada was named Best Airline in North America at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Its Toronto Pearson Signature Suite lounge was recognized as the World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining for the second consecutive year.
Key Takeaways
- Air Canada’s Signature Plus Suites debut on the Boeing 787-10, with first delivery expected by end of 2026; existing Boeing 777, 787-8, and 787-9 jets will not be retrofitted until 2029 at the earliest.
- The retrofit program covers 65 Boeing widebody aircraft; the airline’s 20 Airbus A330-300s are excluded and will retire with their current cabins.
- Signature Plus Suites offer a 2-meter lie-flat bed, a 27-inch 4K OLED screen, a quartzite table, a companion seat, and a retractable privacy panel on center suites — with four suites per aircraft.
- The Airbus A321XLR, already delivered and entering long-haul service, carries the Glowing Hearted cabin but does not include Signature Plus Suites.
- S. travelers on existing Air Canada widebody routes should not expect new-generation suites before 2029.