Solution to economy class problem falls flat
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The revolution has finally begun! No longer will economy class passengers be forced to endure uncomfortable long-haul journeys; no longer will we have to twist and turn to find a marginally less painful sleeping position; never again will the inflatable sleeping pillow be the pinnacle of coach class comfort. Yes, last week Air Zealand unveiled its ‘Skycouch’ - billed as the “world’s first-ever lie-flat economy” seat, and economy class travellers across the world rejoiced.
But hang on a minute; one quick look at the design and you may notice one slight flaw. Yes, the ‘lie-flat’ aspect of this ‘revolutionary’ concept simply means lying across the row of seats. So unless all three passengers know each other very well, the lie-flat aspect will be unworkable. Air New Zealand has said that a couple purchasing the Skycouch will have to buy two seats at standard prices, with the third seat being available at approximately half price. All well and good, but this means that the concept will unavailable to individual travellers. It also means that, doing a rough calculation for an Auckland to LA ticket (the Skycouch’s debut route), getting a flat-bad will mean having to fork out an extra US$800.
This seems a little steep to me, especially as travellers have been using economy class flatbeds for a long time, at no extra cost. You simply wait until everyone’s boarded, ask the flight attendant if there are any free rows, and hey presto! Your very own ‘lie-flat’ row of seats. You even get extra pillows and blankets to smooth out any pointy edges. Of course this won’t be possible on every flight, and I’m sure airlines don’t especially like you doing it, but it beats paying US$800.
Don’t get me wrong; I do applaud Air New Zealand for trying to create something innovative, especially in the often overlooked economy class cabins. The Skycouch appears to be an interesting new option for long-haul couples, but after the initial excitement created by the “world’s first-ever lie-flat economy” tagline, the product itself is a bit of a let down. It left me feeling a bit, well, flat.
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