Air New Zealand is set to revolutionise air travel with the introduction of Skynest, a game-changing sleep pod feature on its new planes.

The airline has recently announced a major upgrade on its economy class flights, noting that passengers will soon be able to book beds for a four-hour slot during long flights.

Air New Zealand said that its incoming fleet of eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners as well as its current 787-9 planes will be fitted with six sleep pods.

Additionally, the typical economy seat will feature more spacious storage due to "a thinner shell" and a bigger screen for entertainment.

Credit: YouTube/Air New Zealand​

The airline said that these upgrades are a response to the "overwhelming" customer feedback, pointing out the importance of rest and relaxation during flights.

“Long haul flights can be tough in economy,” Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said, pointing out that passengers will soon be able to “arrive refreshed and ready to go” when they reach their destinations while flying with the airline.

“For 17 hours, sure, you can sit in that economy seat."

“But wouldn’t it be fantastic to, say, grab four hours somewhere during that flight and get yourself a really decent sleep?"

The airline executive also noted that the company's initiative to provide customers with comfortable sleeping options was inspired by studies pointing out that sleep and relaxation enhance customers' travel experience.

He explained: “We’ve zeroed in on sleep, comfort and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well rested."

“Whether they’re heading straight into a meeting or going to their first holiday hotspot, they want to hit the ground running."

“We wanted to offer our Economy customers a lie-flat option and that’s how Skynest was born."

“It’s going to be a real game-changer for the economy travel experience.”

Air New Zealand unveiled a new “game-changing” upgrade in their new Dreamliners, which allow passengers to book sleep pods during their flight. Credit: Air New Zealand via 7News.​

Aside from the new sleeping pods, passengers will also have access to some snacks and drinks during the flight via the airline's "Sky Pantry" — a new feature that will be added to the Premium Economy and Economy cabins, allowing passengers to stretch their legs and feel comfortable.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Gerahty revealed that a team of aircraft designers have dedicated more than 17,000 hours to developing the airline's new products and services, ensuring that customers will get the most out of their experience flying with the airline.

She shared: “We’ve done over 2571 hours on customer research alone.”

“We’ve had 334 of our key customers come through for testing – so it’s been a mammoth effort."

The aeroplanes are set to soar the skies from 2024.

Details on how passengers can book the sleeping pods are yet to be determined.

Are you looking forward to flying with Air New Zealand? Better yet, do you think local airlines should adopt these upgrades as well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

 

[Chris Churchill]

The cost of these "fabulous" additions will no doubt be very sobering and mind changing!......

 

[Ricci]

If it comes with the price of your ticket, Great, but somehow I reckon they will put an extra dollar value on it.

 

[Chris Churchill]

If it comes with the price of your ticket, Great, but somehow I reckon they will put an extra dollar value on it.

Air New Zealand's 787-10 will seat up to 330 passengers, according to their website information. This is to be a two class configured aircraft fo the airline. Although the Business Class number of seats seems to be undetermined at this stage, I would guess at it being no more than 30 seats.
Thus with 300 economy seats (maybe less if they offer a Premium Economy option), that is a lot of people.
Even on a 16:15 hour flight (Auckland to New York) or 17:35 hour flight (NYC to AKL), that does not allow every economy passenger the option of booking and paying for a bed.
My bottom line: The cost will be borne by those requiring an inflight bed and will not be part of the regular economy fare.

 

[Senor]

My view is the same as Chris's comments above. With a very small number of "beds" per aircraft, the use of these beds will be paid by the people who book them. That would make sense as some people may not want to use the bed and would not want additional costs added to their tickets. Some people seem to be OK sleeping in the airplane seat, not me though. I think I am going to have to put up with airline seat and stay awake.

 

[Pommyoz]

Qantas, eat your heart out. Air New Zealand is innovative, Qantas can't get the booking procedure right, nor assisting people with rightful complaints. I know who I'll be flying with.

 

[Pam White]

Further to the above comments, on a 16 or 17 hour flight you would only get 4 lots of time to sleep. 4 x 6 is 24. So only 24 people could “arrive refreshed and ready to go”. So to my mind it is almost false advertising!

 

[LH2022]

Extra cost or not...it will be great for the person sitting next to the pod renter...they get two seats while the pod renter is away having a Zzzz

There's a little divider between pod sleepers...Hmmm ... me thinks there will be snoring galore with head to head closeness and germs flying around like crazy. Be prepared to sleep with your mask on???? Now if there was a way to completely close off a pod from the other's germs, I'm in with my earplugs or noise reducing headphones.

 

[Groovy]

Talking about flights!!
I was looking at Emirates prices - which is the airliner we always travel to the country we come from and the tickets usually were between $2,300-$2,500 each, return. I nearly died when they gave me the new price of $4,900. Anyone knows why flight tickets have gone up so much?? It’s ridiculous

 

[Chris Churchill]

My guess would be demand (after two years), and fuel costs......

 

[Julia TH]

May i just say how appreciative 8 am that the word aeroplane was used in the article as opposed to the American term airplane. It's nice to see proper English used instead of American corruption of a lovely language.

 

[RTS]

Designers spent over 17,000 hours coming up with these changes. That's equivalent to eight people spending a whole year working on it. Each seat plus footroom and overhead space is about equal to a bunk bed, so why not design seats which may be converted to beds, like on the Indian Pacific? This may not work for all seats, but certainly for a lot more than six per plane.

 

[Groovy]

May i just say how appreciative 8 am that the word aeroplane was used in the article as opposed to the American term airplane. It's nice to see proper English used instead of American corruption of a lovely language.

I’m really sorry. I did’n even realise I had written aeroplane. It was a mistake on my part and I think it’s caused by being an emigrant. I apologise

 

[Chris Churchill]

I’m really sorry. I did’n even realise I had written aeroplane. It was a mistake on my part and I think it’s caused by being an emigrant. I apologise

You don't need to apologise for something which is not even a mistake!
The comment which prompted your reply, is completely "off subject" anyway!

 

[BabsL]

Air New Zealand is set to revolutionise air travel with the introduction of Skynest, a game-changing sleep pod feature on its new planes.

The airline has recently announced a major upgrade on its economy class flights, noting that passengers will soon be able to book beds for a four-hour slot during long flights.

Air New Zealand said that its incoming fleet of eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners as well as its current 787-9 planes will be fitted with six sleep pods.

Additionally, the typical economy seat will feature more spacious storage due to "a thinner shell" and a bigger screen for entertainment.

Credit: YouTube/Air New Zealand​

The airline said that these upgrades are a response to the "overwhelming" customer feedback, pointing out the importance of rest and relaxation during flights.

“Long haul flights can be tough in economy,” Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said, pointing out that passengers will soon be able to “arrive refreshed and ready to go” when they reach their destinations while flying with the airline.

“For 17 hours, sure, you can sit in that economy seat."

“But wouldn’t it be fantastic to, say, grab four hours somewhere during that flight and get yourself a really decent sleep?"

The airline executive also noted that the company's initiative to provide customers with comfortable sleeping options was inspired by studies pointing out that sleep and relaxation enhance customers' travel experience.

He explained: “We’ve zeroed in on sleep, comfort and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well rested."

“Whether they’re heading straight into a meeting or going to their first holiday hotspot, they want to hit the ground running."

“We wanted to offer our Economy customers a lie-flat option and that’s how Skynest was born."

“It’s going to be a real game-changer for the economy travel experience.”

Air New Zealand unveiled a new “game-changing” upgrade in their new Dreamliners, which allow passengers to book sleep pods during their flight. Credit: Air New Zealand via 7News.​

Aside from the new sleeping pods, passengers will also have access to some snacks and drinks during the flight via the airline's "Sky Pantry" — a new feature that will be added to the Premium Economy and Economy cabins, allowing passengers to stretch their legs and feel comfortable.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Gerahty revealed that a team of aircraft designers have dedicated more than 17,000 hours to developing the airline's new products and services, ensuring that customers will get the most out of their experience flying with the airline.

She shared: “We’ve done over 2571 hours on customer research alone.”

“We’ve had 334 of our key customers come through for testing – so it’s been a mammoth effort."

The aeroplanes are set to soar the skies from 2024.

Details on how passengers can book the sleeping pods are yet to be determined.

Are you looking forward to flying with Air New Zealand? Better yet, do you think local airlines should adopt these upgrades as well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

I would be MORE PLEASED for airlines to allow customised WHEELCHAIRS on flights!
I was disgusted to learn of the rampant discrimination against wheelchair-bound people who book, pay, then are told they are not allowed to board, or worse still must put their super expensive ultra customised battery operated wheelchairs into cargo, where it is bounced and thrown around, often unusable and destroyed beyond repair, and use a non-suitable airport cheaper instead.
Stop pandering to the spoilt sods and do yr jobs - FLY PASSENGERS!

Make flying better for all by scheduling child-free flights (noise reduced creche area), banning ppl w strong body odour, banning barefeet and inappropriate footwear THONGS/ FLIP-FLOPS.
These changes wld encourage many more ppl to fly again and more often.

Air New Zealand is set to revolutionise air travel with the introduction of Skynest, a game-changing sleep pod feature on its new planes.

The airline has recently announced a major upgrade on its economy class flights, noting that passengers will soon be able to book beds for a four-hour slot during long flights.

Air New Zealand said that its incoming fleet of eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners as well as its current 787-9 planes will be fitted with six sleep pods.

Additionally, the typical economy seat will feature more spacious storage due to "a thinner shell" and a bigger screen for entertainment.

Credit: YouTube/Air New Zealand​

The airline said that these upgrades are a response to the "overwhelming" customer feedback, pointing out the importance of rest and relaxation during flights.

“Long haul flights can be tough in economy,” Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said, pointing out that passengers will soon be able to “arrive refreshed and ready to go” when they reach their destinations while flying with the airline.

“For 17 hours, sure, you can sit in that economy seat."

“But wouldn’t it be fantastic to, say, grab four hours somewhere during that flight and get yourself a really decent sleep?"

The airline executive also noted that the company's initiative to provide customers with comfortable sleeping options was inspired by studies pointing out that sleep and relaxation enhance customers' travel experience.

He explained: “We’ve zeroed in on sleep, comfort and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well rested."

“Whether they’re heading straight into a meeting or going to their first holiday hotspot, they want to hit the ground running."

“We wanted to offer our Economy customers a lie-flat option and that’s how Skynest was born."

“It’s going to be a real game-changer for the economy travel experience.”

Air New Zealand unveiled a new “game-changing” upgrade in their new Dreamliners, which allow passengers to book sleep pods during their flight. Credit: Air New Zealand via 7News.​

Aside from the new sleeping pods, passengers will also have access to some snacks and drinks during the flight via the airline's "Sky Pantry" — a new feature that will be added to the Premium Economy and Economy cabins, allowing passengers to stretch their legs and feel comfortable.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Gerahty revealed that a team of aircraft designers have dedicated more than 17,000 hours to developing the airline's new products and services, ensuring that customers will get the most out of their experience flying with the airline.

She shared: “We’ve done over 2571 hours on customer research alone.”

“We’ve had 334 of our key customers come through for testing – so it’s been a mammoth effort."

The aeroplanes are set to soar the skies from 2024.

Details on how passengers can book the sleeping pods are yet to be determined.

Are you looking forward to flying with Air New Zealand? Better yet, do you think local airlines should adopt these upgrades as well? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!