Air New Zealand to offer beds in ecnonomy class

Philip Pank, Transport Correspondent, The Times, 26th January 2010

After two years in a secret research facility, the ‘Skycouch’ is the first lie-flat bed for passengers who turn right.

It is the great challenge for the world-weary traveller: how to get a decent night’s sleep on a long-haul flight without paying through the nose for the privilege.

After two years locked away in a secret research facility – codenamed Molly, after a one of the researcher's pet dogs – a team of designers, boat builders and airline executives unveiled a prototype of their solution. The ‘Skycouch’ is the first lie-flat bed for economy class passengers.

And the researchers hope it will bring about a revolution in long-haul travel - bringing to the masses initiatives that for the past 25 years have been the preserve of the business classes.

From next April people flying economy from London Heathrow to Auckland, New Zealand, will be able to put it to the test on the gruelling 26-hour journey to the South Pacific.

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 class seat, so the airline will not lose passenger numbers to facilitate the travellers’ need for sleep. The catch is that any couple looking to bed down will have to buy a third ticket at half the standard fare to be able to lie down together.

The bed is activated on rows of three seats, which look like standard economy class seating until a button on the armrest is activated. This raises what looks like an elongated foot-rest, but which becomes a mattress panel abutting the seat in front. Passengers sleep across the cabin on a flat bed base. Two adult passengers can, just about, lie shoulder to shoulder, but the bed would be more comfortable for an adult and two young children. It will certainly be welcomed by the large number of expatriates who take children to visit relatives in Britain or New Zealand.

Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand, said: "The days of sitting in economy and yearning to lie down and sleep are gone. The dream is now a reality, one that you can even share with a travelling companion – just keep your clothes on, thanks.”

The airline, which has spent several million pounds developing the concept, is not yet willing to say how much a London to Auckland fare will be, but Ed Sims, its long-haul boss, acknowledged that prices might rise if the flying beds prove as popular as he predicts.

Mr Sims led the development team and has spent the past two years closeted away with designers in a warehouse close to the Auckland seafront. Inside Hangar 9, sandwiched between a garden furniture maker and a carpet warehouse, the team have tried out their designs in a mock-up fuselage of a Boeing 777-300 which will come into service from November.

“I have been living and breathing this for three years. We have been in the warehouse for two years. Today I feel relief and excitement in equal measure,” he said. Such was the secrecy of the programme that simulated flight tests were conducted on actors sworn to silence. Mr Sims said: “We could not test this on customers because what we were building was so confidential we could not run the risk of leaks.” Aviation seating is certainly a cut-throat business and Mr Sims expects to sell the design to other airlines under licence.

His team have also developed a new premium economy seat, the ‘Spaceseat’ which lets passengers recline without moving the fixed back shell. This means that passengers will no longer have their drinks spilt and knees crushed when the person in front reclines in their seat.

Air New Zealand has patented its designs and believes that other airlines will pay millions of pounds to adopt the seats once they go on offer from April. Mr Sims says that the company will recoup its development costs in “months rather than years”.

The soft curves and satin sheen of the Spaceseat – to be built by Contour, seat manufacturers in Cumbran, near Cardiff, certainly won the backing of Mils Muliaina, the All Black fullback. He said that he would not be too disgruntled to be shunted out of business class to one of the premium economy seats when he flies to London for the rugby autumn series. “We are bigger guys and we want a bit of extra room so that we can get a decent sleep.

"There is plenty of room there. You can stretch your legs and there is the aspect of interacting with your team mates which would be important for us,” he said. He was also taken by the airline’s new in-flight entertainment system, which allows passengers to order food on the touch screen monitor. “Being able to order food at the touch of a button would be good,” he said.

Also, see the video about Air New Zealands new cabin features in the video gallery. http://www.flightcrewfinder.com/video/air-new-zealand-new-long-haul-cabin-service-november-2010