06/04/2023
What a great option! I hope other airlines jump onboard.
So, is Air New Zealand's Skycouch worth it?
Air New Zealand offers an interesting option on long-haul economy flights where you can book the whole row and transform it to a Skycouch. It costs less than business class or even premium economy but comes at an added charge over regular economy.
If what you are after is the cheapest way to lie down and sleep on a long flight, the Skycouch that may do just the trick. Here's what it was like:
✈️ The Air New Zealand Skycouch was first launched in 2011, so it's not brand-new, but since none of the U.S. airlines utilize this style of seat, it's still a foreign concept for many North America-based travelers.
💺 The Skycouch is located in some of the first few rows of Air New Zealand's economy section in the three seats closest to the windows on each side of the airline's Boeing 777s and 787-9s.
💻 When booking a Skycouch, no one other than your party will be seated in that row of three. Your seating group can have anywhere from one to three people in the Skycouch row.
🥱 The Skycouch seats have a special footrest that can be flipped up halfway to relax with your feet up in the seated position or put all the way up to a 90-degree angle to transform the three seats into a lie-flat bed ... or couch, if you will.
Bottom line
If you want a pampered experience with higher-end service, then the Skycouch will come up short for you as it is just a more comfortable economy experience. And if you're tall, this might not be restful for you unless you are adept at curling up to sleep -- though not having seat neighbors for a long flight is a major perk in and of itself, even if you can't stretch fully out while lying down.
We think it's worth the upcharge (in this case it was $1,393 for three economy tickets) to have the option to lie down and truly sleep.
Visit the link below to read more from Summer Hull about her experience.
https://bit.ly/3M9Q9q5
📸: Summer Hull