Long-haul flights are a necessary evil and I was intrigued this week to see Air New Zealand is launching the world’s first sleep pods for economy class travellers.
This is a rare bit of good news for aviation design. I’m still smarting from Ryanair’s idea to remove toilets from planes and its Skyrider concept, a “standing seat” from the pits of hell.
It’s baaaaaack! The AvioInteriors Skyrider saddle seat is returning to #AIX18 after its controversial reception. Will the fact that 28” is normal on low-cost carriers mean that a 23” squat for a (very) short flight seems more #PaxEx palatable? #avgeek pic.twitter.com/zLylr91NiT
— John Walton 🏳️🌈🇪🇺 (@thatjohn) April 10, 2018
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Fortunately, it’s not all bad. There are plenty of people designing airplane interiors with passenger comfort in mind. Here are some of the latest (and greatest) ideas:
Sleep pods
When you fly long-haul, all you want to do is lie flat. And now you can — all without shelling out for tickets you need a mortgage for.
Yes, I’m talking about Air New Zealand’s sleep pods. Each bunk-bed unit has its own mattress, sheets, privacy curtain, USB charging, and ventilation.
However, the pods are communal, and the passengers can only book a pod for four hours.
Worse, there are only six pods per plane. A plane flies about 200 passengers, so assuming they service about 24 over several four-hour shifts, there will be 176 other passengers who are mightily pissed off that they didn’t get a booking.
Just wait for the air rage, people.