Bunk Beds on the Cards for Air New Zealand

When taking a red-eye, there is nothing more valuable than the ability to sleep. Historically, the privilege to get some decent shut-eye has been reserved for those who can afford lie-flat seats in first and business class. But Air New Zealand is hoping to change that with the first bunk beds on planes, travel writer Ali Wunderman reports for The Washington Post.

The Skynest will debut in September 2024 as part of the airline’s retrofit of its existing wide-body planes, as well as the new Dreamliners it’s purchased. The bunks will be the first sleep pods ever seen in the sky, with six pods available to economy passengers on long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights, Wunderman writes.

“[Skynest] was really born out of our research telling us that sleep was core to customer experience,” chief customer and sales officer at Air New Zealand Leanne Geraghty says.

Original article by Ali Wunderman, The Washington Post, April 12, 2023.