The Essentials
The Future of Comfortable Coach Travel
Is there such a thing as a comfortable coach seat? It’s often an elusive search for most airline travelers.
Yes, we all know about the exit row. The seat most probably doesn’t recline, but at least your knees are not firmly wedged into your neck. Or bulkhead seats, if you’re traveling with kids, at least they won’t kick the backs of their neighbors in front of them.
But what about on ultra long haul flights?
Air New Zealand is about to launch dedicated economy class bunk beds on some of their flights. Starting next year you can fly on the world’s first lie-flat sleep pods. They call it the Skynest.
But one important caveat: passengers can book any of the six Skynest beds for an extra $400 to $600 charge, the airline will rent them to you in four-hour sessions, after takeoff, during the flight, and before landing, limited to one session per passenger. Call me crazy, but good luck waking me up after my session ends.
I think I’ll save my money and stay back in coach and buy a pair of the best noise-cancelling headphones.