Airplane sleep pods in economy class are coming to Air New Zealand in 2024, the result of ‘170,000 hours of design’
- Air New Zealand’s fully flat SkyNest pods will come into use in 2024, located at the back of the cabin and for economy and premium economy passengers
- There are drawbacks, however – the beds won’t be included in the price of an economy ticket and will be bookable only in four-hour increments
The world’s first lie-flat “pods” are coming to an economy-class plane section near you.
Air New Zealand has had its SkyNest concept in development for five years and announced on June 28 that it’s ready for prime time – in 2024. The seats are fully flat, made up with real mattresses plus cooling pillows and bedding, and located in the back of the plane, right behind the premium economy cabin.
But like everything to do with flying today, there’s loads of fine print on this announcement.
First, the seats won’t be included in the price of an economy ticket. SkyNests are a separate product, bunk beds stacked three high, and bookable only in four-hour increments – the amount of time the airline has determined it takes to allow guests two sleep cycles (which are typically about 90 minutes each), with additional time to wind down and wake up.
Each aircraft being fitted with them will have six of these “pods”, to be turned around between “sessions” by cabin attendants who will sanitise and replace the linens in 30-minute cleaning windows.