Sleeping in beds on long-haul flight could cost $65 to $95 an hour

Sydney, Australia, May 10 (EFE).- Sleeping in a bunk during a long-haul plane flight could cost between $65 and $95 an hour, New Zealand’s flag carrier Air New Zealand reported Wednesday.

In 2020, the airline registered the patent for the design dubbed “Economy Skynest,” which consists of a module with three berths on each side, each of them up to 2 meters long by 58 centimeters wide, which includes sheets, blankets and pillows, plus curtains for privacy.

“… We’re confident it will revolutionize the in-flight experience for Economy passengers,” Air New Zealand Director of Sales and Customer Service Leanne Geraghty said in a Wednesday statement about the initiative, which would launch in 2024.

The berths, which passed several flight tests, will be available for the first time in September 2024 for the long-distance Auckland-Chicago and the Auckland-New York route – which is flown in 17 hours and 40 minutes and is one of the longest air routes in the world.

“We’re still working through the exact details of how the booking process will work, and we have yet to determine the price. At this stage we are looking at around NZD 400-600 ($250-380) for the 4-hour period,” the company said.

The airline added that reservations would be limited to one per passenger and at the end of the four-hour sleep berth lights will gently come on, while a crew member politely proceeds to wake the passenger.

For safety, each berth would have a seat belt to avoid accidents in the event of turbulence and bedding would be changed between each session, so a half-hour break in service would be applied between each user. EFE

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