Anyone who has taken a long haul flight will know that getting some shut eye during the flight can be a bit of a challenge at the best of times. Dealing with crying babies or restless children is only compounded by being crammed into seats that become more and more uncomfortable as the hours go by. Earlier this year we looked at the efforts of a number of airlines to make future air travel a more comfortable experience, including Air New Zealand's "cuddle class" which features an Economy Skycouch. The new seat designs are now available in the airline's new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with some of the first passengers to take advantage those on the aircraft's inaugural flight from Los Angeles to London.
As well as the Economy Skycouch, Air New Zealand's 777-300ER's also offer lie-flat seating with thicker memory foam mattresses and full size pillows in its Business Premier class, while a Spaceseat is designed to provide unmatched legroom in Premium Economy. Air New Zealand covers a number of long haul routes, including non-stop flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Vancouver to New Zealand, as well as Los Angeles to the Cook Islands. The airline also flies non-stop from Los Angeles to London and London to Hong Kong. However, the "cuddle class" seats will initially only be available on flights between Los Angeles and Auckland or London. Whether the redesigned seats lead to a growth in the numbers of people joining the mile high club remains to be seen.
Air New Zealand is now taking bookings for flights with the new seating options departing from this month.