The vast majority of people in Australia know that flying long haul is just about the worst thing you can do to your body. Hours of arid air, uncomfortable seats, gross food and poor quality sleep is the usual go in economy class, and the luxuries of business class, such as fully flat beds, are beyond the price range of many travellers.
Until now, that is. AirNZ has announced that will be introducing the ‘skynest’ to its Boeing 787 Dreamliners in economy class. The bunk beds will be available on non-stop flights to New York and Chicago from New Zealand from 2024. The six railway-style sleeper births will be exclusively available to premium economy and economy class passengers and will feature a mattress pad, pillow and blanket, with privacy curtains so you can snooze in peace. And before you go getting any mile-high club ambitions, each bunk will be strictly limited to one passenger at a time.
Passengers will be able to book in a slot for a sleep during their flight in advance, and since there will only be six bunks per aircraft, slots are limited to four hours, which experts believe is equivalent to two sleep cycles, plus 30 minutes to wake up and clear out before the next sleepy passenger takes their slot. Each passenger will get their own fresh mattress pad, pillow and blanket to ensure hygiene.
Each bunk will feature a storage section, a reading lamp and a USB socket for charging your devices, and mirror the secret crew quarters that are discreetly hidden away on long-haul aircraft so cabin crew can get some shut eye on extremely lengthy flights.
The routes that the Skynest will feature on are 14-16 hour flights, so a maximum of just 21 passengers will be able to book a bed per flight. However, if the concept proves popular, this could become the new status quo of long-haul flights in the future. Sweet dreams fellow flyers.