Air New Zealand has introduced a new sleeping seat for long-distance travel. It is called the skycouch. It is the first step up from coach. Basically, it allows two passengers to share what amounts it seems to a twin bed.
The new seat allows passengers to choose to extend the bottom cushion of their seats to the seats in front of them providing an amble bed to sleep on. This will work great if you are flying with a significant other, but might be a little awkward if with a complete stranger.
22 sets of the SkyCouch seats will be available and will cost about the same as two and a half non-Skycouch seats.
The seats at first glance look like a normal set of three coach seats. The difference is that what seems be a footrest rises forward providing a wide enough space for a couple to sleep side-by-side. Or, it might be good for a parent and a couple of toddlers.
Each person sharing the seats will be charged for one-and-a-half coach seats. At least that is the plan. According to the Times of London
The pioneering design has been developed specifically to cater for young families or older couples on the high-end tourist route. It takes up no more space than a conventional economy seat, so the airline will not lose passenger numbers — although a couple will have to buy a third ticket at half the standard fare to be able to lie together.
I guess anyon who has traveled on European trains could look at these seats as the couchettes of of the air.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
