Air New Zealand has unveiled a ground-breaking new lie-flat prototype sleep product for economy class travellers. The Economy Skynest is the result of three years of the airline’s research and development, with the input of more than 200 customers at its Hangar 22 innovation centre in Auckland.

The airline has filed patent and trademark applications for it which provides six full length lie-flat sleep pods. Mike Tod, chief marketing and customer officer for Air New Zealand said: “We have a tremendous amount of development work underway looking at product innovations we can bring across all cabins of the aircraft.  A clear pain point for economy travellers on long-haul flights is the inability to stretch out. This development is a direct response to that challenge.”

“Clear pain point.”

The airline will make a final decision on whether to operate the Economy Skynest next year after it has assessed the performance of its inaugural year of Auckland-New York operations.

Nikki Goodman, general manager of customer experience in the airline said: “We see a future flying experience where an economy-class customer on long-haul flights would be able to book it in addition to their economy seat, get some quality rest and arrive at their destination ready to go. This is a game changer on so many levels.”