Airplane Seats Being Replaced With Bunk Beds?
Air New Zealand has come up with a novel idea. The airline created airplane bunk beds to give travelers a more relaxing experience.
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If you’ve ever been on a long flight, you’ve probably wanted to take a nap or relax in a more comfortable position. Especially if you have economy seating, there’s no real way to extend your legs or get enough rest. Air New Zealand is debuting airplane bunk beds for its economy passengers, hoping to provide a more comfortable situation for extended travel.
The new concept is called SkyNest, and Air New Zealand is currently testing it to see if airplane bunk beds will work in a confined setting. The prototype has six full-length sleeping pods which can fit into a relatively small cabin. The beds are all twin-sized but give ample leg room for passengers to stretch out and relax. Pods wouldn’t replace seating, though. Instead, the bunk beds would be in an additional area of the plane where passengers could reserve a bed for four hours at a time.
Though the airplane bunk beds are still being constructed and reviewed, pictures of the concept were uploaded to Air New Zealand’s Twitter page. The pictures show two rows of three beds stacked on top of each other, which would be between Premium Economy and standard class seating. The beds would come with everything a person would need for sleep: ear plugs, oversized pillows, a reading light, a USB port, and a ventilation outlet. If you’re worried about how hygienic sleeping in reusable pods is, the airline assures you that employees will change the bedding and pillowcases after every use.
Many might want more extended periods for resting in these airplane bunk beds, but Air New Zealand stated that four hours would be the bookable limit. A spokesperson noted that the hourly limit comes down to a science, referencing the standard “90-minute sleep cycle” for humans. This way, people will have enough time to relax and fall asleep within a four-hour window. Though many might wish for a longer reservation time for sleep, an Air New Zealand plane would only hold six bunk beds for now. Fewer beds mean less reservation time per customer, ensuring that every passenger has the ability to relax in an open pod when needed.
How will a plane make more room for bedrooms? According to Air New Zealand, airplane bunk bends will be replacing five economy seats for the structure to fit. Alongside the new pods is a Sky Pantry which will be available for all passengers. The Sky Pantry will be an in-flight relaxation area, allowing passengers to walk around, get a drink, and stretch their legs.
Air New Zealand hopes to release its airplane bunk beds by 2024. Installing actual beds in a commercial plane will make it the world’s first, showcasing an incredible new way of providing passenger relaxation mid-flight. New Zealand is the perfect country to implement these pods since the country takes hours to fly to for most countries globally. Greg Foran, Air New Zealand’s chief executive, agreed with this sentiment, stating how the country’s unique global position has galvanized the company to invest in better in-flight sleeping arrangements.
