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Cannot afford the luxury of first-class for long-haul flights? Air New Zealand has a solution for the budget travellers. The airline on Wednesday unveiled its Economy Skynest under which it will set up flatbeds in the economy for some of its long-haul flights, according to media reports.
The airline on Wednesday had filed patent and trademark applications for its Economy Skynest. Air New Zealand, under Skynest will set up six full-length sleep pods which are more like bunk beds with three levels of beds and two beds on each level. The flatbeds would be 200cm long and 58cm wide each according to a report.
The beds in a concept similar to pod hotels will have a full-size pillow, bed sheets, blankets, earplugs, and a privacy curtain. The airline is also mulling addition of other features like a USB outlet and a reading light.
Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer, Mike Tod said, the Skynest is designed to add more comfort to flying as the airline operates some of the world's longest flights including the upcoming Auckland-Newark which is up to 17 hours 40 minutes one way, The Stuff reported.
The cost of the Skynest for customers is yet to be decided. However, the cost would be an addition to the basic cost of purchasing a ticket. The airline is thinking on introducing an hourly rental price model where passengers can use the pods for a specific amount of time according to The Stuff report. The pods would then be cleaned and the sheets would be changed before the next passenger checks in, as per The Guardian report.
Tod said that the airline will take the decision of whether or not to go ahead with Skynest after the launch of its longest route, the Auckland to Newark route, which is set to launch in October 2020 using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Forbes reported.
The airline is yet to get the plan certified with regulators before passengers can jump in on the in-flight bunk-beds.If successful, the airline will also be open to licensing the Skynest to other airlines.
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