“Air New Zealand unveils plans for cheaper sleeping pods on long-haul flights”

Usually you have to book one of the most expensive plane tickets, such as business or first class, but now work is being done to introduce sleeping cabins, or capsules, on some long-haul flights, for those with economy and premium tickets.

Last summer, Air New Zealand presented plans for sleeping pods on the long-haul flight between Auckland and New York and Auckland to Chicago, both of which take over 15 hours, and these should be cheaper than booking business or first class.

Firetimerslur

This week, the New Zealand airline showed prototypes of the sleeping capsules, which can be booked once per economy and premium passenger during the journey, and there is only one passenger per capsule.

The sleeping pods will consist of a mattress, pillow, sheet and blanket, and a curtain to give you some privacy while you take a four-hour nap.

For the is the maximum number of hours you can book a capsule during your journey.

Between each person, the bed is changed and cleaned so that the next person can sleep in clean bed linen.

Up to NOK 6,000

– We are still working on the details of how the booking process will work, and have not yet decided on a price. At the moment we’re at around $400 to $600 for a four-hour period, Leanne Geraghty, Air New Zealand’s chief customer and sales officer, told The Guardian.

That price corresponds to between NOK 4,200 and NOK 6,300 at today’s rate, or just over a thousand Swedish kroner per hour.

It is cheaper than booking a business ticket, which costs around 5,000 New Zealand dollars, just over 33,000 at today’s exchange rate, while economy and premium cost 1,000 and 2,000 New Zealand dollars respectively, or around 7,000 and 15,000 kroner.

The aim of Air New Zealand is to tempt more people to travel on one of the company’s long-haul flights, but travelers will have to wait a little longer before they can enjoy a four-hour look at the economy section of the plane.

Air New Zealand expects to start flights with sleeping cabins towards the end of 2024, when it receives new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.