Air New Zealand is one of the most premium airlines. She is also one of those who make the longest flights. Connecting Auckland to New York indeed requires more than 17 hours, and the company needed to redouble its originality to motivate customers to choose its planes, not to endure the journey and to spend more. Its latest innovation is certainly the most unusual: a compartment with beds will be available on request, including for travelers in Economy class.
In all, six beds are available for all passengers who agree to pay between 250 and 380 dollars (between 230 and 350 euros) additional. At this price, they will have access to a 4-hour session during which they can rest. To wake up, you don’t need to program an alarm on your side: the lights in the berth take care of everything by gradually lighting up over the last minutes of your time slot. In case of too deep sleep, the staff will come to meet you to invite you to return to your seat.
A more accessible luxury service
Until now, access to beds or berths on an airplane was only possible by spending thousands of euros to afford a place in first class. Thanks to these beds for hire in slots that do not take up the entire flight, Air New Zealand has found a solution to make its beds even more profitable while allowing a greater number of travelers to be able to access this luxury. Because even if the option can be summed up as a nap at 300 euros, it turns out that the price of access is much lower than a First class with all its additional services.
Naturally, slots will only be available once per flight per traveler. Between each occupation, the company staff will take 30 minutes to redo the sheets and prepare the bedding for the next traveler. The Boeing 787-9s used for accommodation have a capacity of 215 passengers in Economy class, and fifty in First class and Business class. For the installation, Air New Zealand will come to nibble in its capacities in Business class.
To take advantage of it, you will still have to wait until September 2024, and choose a ticket for one of the company’s longest flights, namely Auckland-New York or Auckland-Chicago. These two flights make no stops over more than 14,000 kilometers of travel, crossing a gigantic part of the Pacific Ocean before ascending the North American continent from southwest to northeast. Currently, their frequency is 3 round trips per week, and one-way tickets rarely cost less than $1,000.
