Air New Zealand offers a bed in Cattle

[C.Foo 3]

Air New Zealand's new seat-beds in economy

 

A comfortable sleep for a small cost

 

 

The worst part of being stuck in the back of a plane is the lack of sleep. Attempts to get some shut-eye during long inter-continental flights can often be impossible, especially if you're taller than 4 foot.

 

However, Air New Zealand has proposed a new economy bed, which may be cure crinked necks and buckled knees that accompany an up-in-the-air sleep.

 

Earlier this year, Air New Zealand told the Dominion Post that they were considering replacing cramped economy seats with sleeping pods in a bid to revolutionise air travel and stay ahead of its much bigger rivals.

 

The airline's engineers had been given a project to think about how the concept could work

 

Goodbye to economy sleep nightmares

Now, according to Sydney Morning Herald, a comfortable snooze could be a reality as early as next April. Air New Zealand has disclosed plans to offer passengers unsold seats when they check in at the airport for conversion to a near-flat bed.

 

While there is no indication of the exact fee charged for this privilege, the cost could be as little as $150 extra, which could earn the airline millions in revenue.

 

 

Air New Zealand strategic development general manager Nathan Agnew said the airline wants to introduce an entirely new type of economy cabin when it takes delivery of its fleet of Boeing 787-9 and 777-300ER long-range jets from 2010.

 

A source told the newspaper that the seat arrangement could involve a system in which both seats could slide forward and the seat rest would raise up so the foot room disappeared and the passenger could spread out across both seats. However, the bed would still have a slight pitch and not be completely flat as many business class cabins are these days.

 

New seats could be a reality early next year

 

A rough outline of the new seat-beds, came from Air NZ international group general manager Ed Sims at an investor briefing last week. The airline is also looking into economy seat-bed design to other airlines.

 

It is not believed though that this new concept would cannibalise business class, because business travellers wanted to guarantee they could get a flat seat when they were flying and would not take the risk of waiting until they arrived at the airport to see whether any spare seats were available in economy class.

 

Link

http://au.travel.yahoo.com/special-features/air-nz-economy-beds/index.html

[Y C LEONG 1]

good idea to gain extra revenue..

 

beat SQ to it this time.. or maybe SQ's load factor is too high to hv this concept

[BC Tam 2]

Air New Zealand has disclosed plans to offer passengers unsold seats when they check in at the airport for conversion to a near-flat bed.

I hope this does not signify end of unwritten privilege of hogging empty seat(s) next to one's assigned

[Cheng Long 0]

I hope this does not signify end of unwritten privilege of hogging empty seat(s) next to one's assigned

 

Yea.. haha.. if this kind of trend continues, you will need to pay for anything.. supposedly to enhance in-flight experience.

 

Now chances are you can get empty seats beside you also if you fly long haul.. no need to pay anything..

 

When I flew from Narita to KL via KK.. the flight was less than 50% full, you get 5 seats for yourself with all their pillows and blankets.. You can eat their share of peanuts as well if desperate..

[Azman MN 1]

yeah.. I occasionally have an empty seat next to me... now they want to charge for this? And how are they going to stop me from enjoying that seat if it remains unsold?

 

And why is the press release done is such a positive tone when in fact the passenger is being charged for something that was previously free?

Edited October 23, 2009 by Azman MN