British Airways has today debuted new sleep pods in one of its lounges, which come shortly after British Airways permanently eliminated Elemis Spa treatments.
In this post:
Basics of British Airways’ new sleep pods
To give passengers an opportunity to get some rest during a layover, British Airways is setting up sleep pods in select lounges. Specifically, British Airways will offer Restworks’ MetroNaps EnergyPods, described as “the world’s first chair designed for napping at work” (hopefully this is in fact intended for customers, and not employees). 😉
The way this works:
- Customers won’t have the chance to pre-book sleep pods, but rather they’ll be available on a first-come, first-served basis
- If available, customers can nap for around 20 minutes; the chair will automatically wake the user up using vibration and lights
- There will be a British Airways employee overseeing these pods, who will offer a hot towel and a wake-up drink at the end of the nap
I’ve never been in a pod like this before, though I will say that the pictures don’t make this look very comfortable, and it even looks a bit claustrophobic. Maybe it’s one of those things you just have to experience to appreciate, or maybe it’s not for everyone?
British Airways’ new sleep pods
British Airways’ new sleep pods
Keep in mind that the British Airways Concorde Room has cabanas, which are essentially private rooms in which you can relax. While they don’t have beds, they do have a reasonably comfortable chair and ottoman. This will continue to be available when the lounge reopens, and can be reserved in advance.
British Airways Concorde Room cabana
When it comes to resting in lounges, nothing can compete with the private bedrooms in SWISS’ First Class Lounge Zurich.
SWISS first class lounge bedroom
Which British Airways lounges have sleep pods?
British Airways will offer sleep pods in a total of three lounges:
- The British Airways Galleries First Lounge Heathrow Terminal 5 has seven pods; these are in the space of the former business center
- The British Airways Concorde Room Heathrow Terminal 5 will soon have five pods
- The British Airways New York JFK Lounge will soon have three pods
Bottom line
British Airways has introduced sleep pods in its Galleries First Lounge at Heathrow, and two more lounges are expected to get these sleep pods in the near future. It’s always nice to be able to get a small nap in during a long layover, so I like this concept in theory.
However, having never used one of these pods before, I can’t say they look particularly comfortable. I’d definitely give it a try the next time I’m in a British Airways lounge, though.
What do you make of British Airways’ new lounge sleep pods?
(Tip of the hat to Business Traveller)
Why is this news now? I used them in March 2020 at the Galleries Club. No time limit at the time
We had a few hours layover in LHR on 12 december last year which we spent in the T5 Galleries South Club - and those pods were there already. Might not be comparable to Swiss private bedroom but if you´re really tired it´s definetely a lifesaver!
Do they provide an optional mini CT scan? Certainly look as if they could.
@Rob
You can say that about any chair at the airport, train, plane etc.
Bigger lounges at international airports generally have plenty of chaise lounge chairs in this shape. Difference here is the added dome for darkness.
Plus, you should not nap for more than 40 minutes because then you go into deep sleep and waking up from that won't be pleasant. That said, at an airport its sometimes very difficult to go...
@Rob
You can say that about any chair at the airport, train, plane etc.
Bigger lounges at international airports generally have plenty of chaise lounge chairs in this shape. Difference here is the added dome for darkness.
Plus, you should not nap for more than 40 minutes because then you go into deep sleep and waking up from that won't be pleasant. That said, at an airport its sometimes very difficult to go into a nap within 15 minutes because you're travel stressed and trying not to forget things so your mind is racing. I'll venture to guess that these will be in high demand and airlines can make a revenue out of this for paid use for over 20 minutes.
The Changi Lounge in the Jewel Terminal has these, or at least they did last time I was there, March 2020.
This is a Priority Pass predeparture lounge accessed before going through security.
My wife and I enjoy the 20 minutes and, if no one is waiting, get another 20.
It's like Minute Suites in the US. I love them but some pax complain "an hour is nothing".
@VML-How would you like to be the next person to use a pod that has been dribbled with saliva, someone picked their nose and deposited their treasure nearby, someone without a shower for 24 hours, greasy hair, clothing lint and hair etc etc. Unless there are clean sheets or I can personally clean one of those, no thank you. This pandemic and done nothing if not pointed out just how dirty most of us are....
@VML-How would you like to be the next person to use a pod that has been dribbled with saliva, someone picked their nose and deposited their treasure nearby, someone without a shower for 24 hours, greasy hair, clothing lint and hair etc etc. Unless there are clean sheets or I can personally clean one of those, no thank you. This pandemic and done nothing if not pointed out just how dirty most of us are. They should at least put a clean upper covering each time where your head rests.
Wow..that is NOT how I pictured a ‘British Airways Concorde Room cabana’...looks more like a crappy inside cabin on a Carnival ship.
Seems like a gimick.
@VML: just because COVID generally is not primarily transmitted by surface contact doesn't mean it can't be. Furthermore, there are many, many other diseases out there that are transmitted by surface contact. Deep cleaning and general hygiene are important and I hope air carriers and lounge operators continue to recognize this.
The whole point of power naps is that you don’t do more than 20 minutes — avoiding at all costs going into REM sleep. Otherwise the nap is likely to make you feel more tired.
A common trick from the pre-electronics era was to go to sleep in an armchair while holding a rubber ball in one hand (resting on the arm of a chair). Just as you start to “nod off”, your grip...
The whole point of power naps is that you don’t do more than 20 minutes — avoiding at all costs going into REM sleep. Otherwise the nap is likely to make you feel more tired.
A common trick from the pre-electronics era was to go to sleep in an armchair while holding a rubber ball in one hand (resting on the arm of a chair). Just as you start to “nod off”, your grip on the ball will fail and it drops to the floor, gently waking you up.
Schipol has long had some nice snoozing chairs which I guess are a similar concept (I don’t mean the private sleep rooms — more like the BA ones but without the hood). They’re not on a time limit though.
20 minutes? Lord
Agree with others -- 20 minutes is absurd. In fact, I'd argue that 20 minutes (which gets you at most a 10 minute nap) actually makes you feel worse than if you hadn't attempted to sleep at all. 10 minutes in to any "nap" you are just starting to enter deep sleep, then you are jolted back awake.
This is almost akin to torture (the thimble-full of water analogy is perfect) -- it's just a...
Agree with others -- 20 minutes is absurd. In fact, I'd argue that 20 minutes (which gets you at most a 10 minute nap) actually makes you feel worse than if you hadn't attempted to sleep at all. 10 minutes in to any "nap" you are just starting to enter deep sleep, then you are jolted back awake.
This is almost akin to torture (the thimble-full of water analogy is perfect) -- it's just a tease. No thank you. Give me at least an hour or I'd rather just tough it out and stay awake and I'd be better off not pretending I was getting some rest.
It looks stiff and very upright. What a gimmick.
20 minutes is stupid
An hour isn’t nearly enough and 20 minutes is garbage. For people who need sleep but don’t have the time to leave the terminal to check in at a hotel, this is akin to offering someone dying of thirst a thimbleful of water.
20 minutes - what's the point! 1 hour Please.
Ethan they may be but BA don't fly from JFK T5!
The CCR at LHR pods will be located in the space where the Elemis spa used to be.
They don't need to be deep cleaned after each use - it's been 6+ months that it's been shown that fomite transmission for COVID-19 is negligible. I don't understand why people can't grasp this simple concept! Masks, air filtration, vaccine, yes; cleaning everything in sight with bleach/alcohol, no.
In reality a 20-minute slot really means 10-15 minutes of sleep total. Very few people can put their head back and immediately be out (I'm certainly not one of those people). I hope the actual allotted time is more like 30-45 minutes?
Aren't these already available at JFK T5?
We have these at my workplace (or used to before the epidemic). Ours came with an inbuilt inlaid curved HD monitor, so we could sit there and do our work if we desired to. Of course, these were intended to take a nap during the day if we needed freshening up.
Incidentally, the airport in Delhi had some sleep cabins for rent (not sure if they are still available). One could just rent one...
We have these at my workplace (or used to before the epidemic). Ours came with an inbuilt inlaid curved HD monitor, so we could sit there and do our work if we desired to. Of course, these were intended to take a nap during the day if we needed freshening up.
Incidentally, the airport in Delhi had some sleep cabins for rent (not sure if they are still available). One could just rent one of those cabins and order a meal, watch a movie or just relax. However, they were just cabins which each housed two single beds and could be rented every thirty minutes.
I certainly hope they're deep cleaned between uses considering COVID etc.