I've always loved Air New Zealand for being an all around great airlines, but now we've gotta give them credit for being really, really innovative. Check out this Gadling article which talks about their new "Skycouch" product. Basically the first few rows of seats in the economy cabin on their new 777-300ERs will be designed…
Continue reading: Air New Zealand adds “couches” in coach…. interesting!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I've only skimmed the articles on this but a few of my thoughts:
-- Mile High Club members would increase. :-/
-- How are they buckled in?
-- How does the recline of the seat(s) in front of you affect your space & comfort?
-- Why not charge for three full seats?
-- Suppose the window seat's armrest raises? Otherwise, ouch.
Hardly innovative, I guess many airlines has thought about that too but they gave up the idea because its just not gonna work, they are only doing it for publicity. The picture above is very misleading, you can't possibly straighten your legs like that without blocking the aisle.
I'd share one of those with one of my kids in a heart beat. A family of 4 would get 2 "beds" for the price of 5 tickets - not a bad deal at all.
(I agree though that this picture is very misleading. The ones in the article show the legs bent but they show room for two people to lie shoulder to shoulder and I don't think there's that much room. But I haven't flown Air New Zealand economy ...)
I'm corious on how the neck will be after 5-6 hours in a "bed" like this.
It's definatly a good gimmick, but will it hold up in flight?
@boxo - all your questions are answered in the FT thread and also on my firsthand reports on the new Air New Zealand longhaul product incl skycouch.