Air New Zealand have announced a ground-breaking new product on their planes that will enable economy class passengers to get a full-bed during long-haul flights: a napping station. The Economy Skynest is a six-bed pod in which customers can book to go for a nap during their flight.
The result of three years of research and development, the airline filed a patent and trademark applications for the Economy Skynest today, which provides six full-length lie-flat sleep pods. The pods include a full-size pillow, sheets, blanket, ear plugs and lighting designed to aide sleep (there are also curtains for extra privacy).
The details aren’t exactly fine-tuned yet though, with the positioning of the pods so far undecided. Plus, at this stage they’re only ‘exploring’ features for the pod like a reading light, USB outlet and ventilation outlet. Despite this, the revolutionary prototype is bound to transform long-haul flights.
‘We see a future flying experience where an economy-class customer on long-haul flights would be able to book the Economy Skynest in addition to their Economy seat, get some quality rest and arrive at their destination ready to go,’ Nikki Goodman, general manager of customer experience said in a press release. ‘This is a game changer on so many levels.’
So what’s the deal? Can you book the pods for a full eight-hours rest or is it limited to 40-winks? According to a spokesperson for Air New Zealand, decisions about how long you can book for haven't been made yet.
'The concept is designed as a pod you go to during the flight,' Michael Erhardt, associate campaign executive at Air New Zealand told Grazia. 'You will still have your Economy seat separately for the other portion of the flight. However... it is envisaged that each passenger will be limited to one session.'
With no timeline in place as to when this will be available, Erhardt confirmed that there is still work to be done 'on design development and reviewing the commercial feasibility of having the product onboard.'
Well, early stages or not - it's definitely something we're excited about.
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