2022년 6월 29일 Air Newzealand 장거리 노선에 “이코노미 침대석” 등장, 추가 요금으로 최대 4시간 발 뻗고 쉴 수 있는 일명 "Skynest” 2024년부터 도입.

2022년 6월 29일 Air Newzealand  17시간 장거리 노선에 “이코노미 침대석” 등장, 추가 요금으로 최대 4시간 발 뻗고 쉴 수 있는 일명 "Skynest” 2024년부터 도입.

 

Air New Zealand to install world-first economy bunk beds on long-haul flights

By 2024, passengers will be able to book four-hour sessions in flat sleeping pods on ultra-long-haul routes

 

뉴질랜드 항공사 에어 뉴질랜드가 이코노미석 승객을 위해서 2024년부터 일부 17시간 이상 장거리 노선에 침대석을 설치한다고 발표했다. 

 

Air New Zwaland will soon allow economy passengers to lie down and take a nap in communal, bunk bed-style sleeping pods on its planes, as it attempts to entice passengers on to its more than 17-hour ultra-long-haul flights.

 

In what the airline says will be a world first when its new cabins are installed by 2024, premium and regular economy passengers will still be sold traditional seats that do not recline into a bed.

 

(Photograph)Air New Zealand has announced plans to install six sleeping pods across eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The beds will be open to regular and premium economy passengers(Air New Zealand).

 

However, these passengers will be able to book four-hour sessions in lie-flat sleeping pods – which the airline has named “Skynest” – at an additional cost.

 

“Skynest(스카이네스트)”로 이름 붙여진 침대석은 폭 60㎝, 길이 197㎝ 크기, 객실 높이가 다소 여유있는 보앙 787-9 드림라이너스 8대에 2개층으로 설치된다. 항공기 한 대에 스카이-네스트 6개가 들어간다.

 

스카이네스트는 일종의 유료 부가 서비스이며, 이코노미석 승객이 추가 요금을 내고 매트리스·USB 콘센트·환기구·커튼 등을갖춘 좌석을 최대 4시간 이용하는 방식이다.

 

추가 요금으로 최대 4시간 이용 가능하고 승객 1명이 비행중 한 번만 이용할 수 있다. 요금은 아직 정해지지 않았다고 한다.

 

Pods will have a mattress and sheets – which will be changed by cabin crew after each booking – and will be stacked on top of each other to take advantage of the height of the cabin.

 

Each pod will have a privacy curtain, USB charging and “ventilation outlets”.

 

Five economy seats will be removed to make space to install six of the Skynest pods across eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that Air New Zealand will receive from the end of 2024.

 

에어 뉴질랜드는 9월17일 뉴질랜드 최대 도시 오클랜드에서 미국 뉴욕 JFK공항까지 1만4천185㎞에 달하는 최장거리 직항노선 취항을 앞두고 침대석 아이디어를 꺼내들었다.

 

CNN 등에 따르면 이 노선은 오클랜드에서 출발하면 16시간, JFK 공항에서 출발하면 17시간 35분이 걸려 세계 최장거리 노선중 하나가 될 전망이다.

 

현재 최장거리 여객노선은 싱가포르에서 JFK 공항까지 가는 싱가포르 항공 노선으로, 거리는 1만5천300㎞이며 18시간이 소요된다.

 

앞서 에어 뉴질랜드는 2020년에도 이코노미 좌석을 이어붙여 소파처럼 편하게 이용할 수 있는 "카이카우치"를 선보이기도했다.

 

The sleeping pods will not be available for the launch of Air New Zealand’s direct flights between Auckland and New York this September – a route that is set to exceed 17 hours. The airline will also resume its Auckland to Chicago service in October.

 

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman told the Guardian that while the booking cost for a four-hour session in one of the beds has not yet been determined, it will only be open to regular and premium economy passengers.

 

Passengers will only be able to book one session in a pod per flight, as demand from the more than 200 seats across the economy cabin is expected to be strong.

 

The spokeswoman said the sleeping pods will be limited to one person at a time. The airline is developing a booking system for the pods.

 

(Photograph)Each sleeping pod will have a privacy curtain(Air New Zealand).

 

Greg Foran, Air New Zealand’s chief executive, said the bunk-style beds will be “a real game-changer for the economy travel experience”.

 

그레그포란에어뉴질랜드최고경영자(CEO)는스카이네스트에대해"이코노미석여행경험의'게임체인저'가될것"이라며"고객이푹쉰상태로목적지에도착하는것이중요하다는것을알기에수면과휴식, 건강에집중했다"고설명했다.

 

“New Zealand’s location puts us in a unique position to lead on the ultra-long-haul travel experience. We have zeroed in on sleep, comfort and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well-rested,

 

” Foran said. “Whether they are heading straight into a meeting, or to their first holiday hotspot – they want to hit the ground running.”

 

Leanne Geraghty, the airline’s chief customer and sales officer, said: “Research shows us the first night away from home is the hardest to get a good night’s sleep so everything we do onboard is to help create a sense of calm – from the lighting and sleep ritual including sleepy teas and balms, to the healthier food choices and breathable fabrics.”

 

Air New Zealand’s plans for the sleeping pods come amid a spate of recent developments in the push toward ultra-long-haul flights between the region and the east coast of the United States and Europe.

 

In May, Australia’s Qantas unveiled further details of its long-anticipated plans to run non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York. The so-called “Project Sunrise” flights, some of which will run 20 hours, will begin flying at the end of 2025. 

 

For its ultra-long-haul flights, Qantas has announced “wellbeing zones” for economy passengers to move about and stretch.

 

Air New Zealand also announced similar style “care stations” for all passengers in its new cabin designs on Wednesday.

 

The airline first announced plans for beds for economy passengers in 2020, and already offers Skycouch, where a family or passengers who have booked out a row of seats in economy, or have spare seats next to them, can request special footrests that turn the row into a makeshift bed(NZ Hearld).