Bed compartments are already quite common equipment on 4-wheel vehicles, but for airplanes, this is still an extremely luxurious option.
On large tourist buses, it is easy to access to a bed or to a sleeper compartment with a small amount of money for long journeys.
However, if you want to access the same amenities on the plane, users have to choose certain airlines, certain routes and have a good account, because this type of comfort on the air is still extremely expensive.
For example, Emirates First Class tickets on an Airbus A380 from New York to Dubai cost $14,705 compared to $960 in economy class and $4,535 in business class.
Last week, Air New Zealand said it will put into use a pilot cabin model for long-haul passengers on Boeing 787 aircraft from 2024 onwards.
Each user will have 4 hours of reclining in the cabin, the average aircraft has a cabin with 6 beds (2 beds with 3 floors) with many utilities such as reading lights, USB charging ports, separate air vents, headphones. , mattress/blanket/pillow.
After each passenger use, the crew will replace all used mattresses, blankets and pillows for the next user. With a long flight, the number of passengers using the bed can be up to 4 times. Basically, this model is quite similar to the “mini-cabinets” that we can see at some airports around the world.
Air New Zealand has not announced the above service price list, but the cost is not expected to be too expensive. They also hope that the implementation of this service can push international airlines to apply similar services to serve users at an even higher level in the future.