Given the choice, nobody would fly economy class across long distances.

Not everyone can afford to splash out on first-class travel, though, so most of us are resigned to cramped spaces, annoying people in close proximity and screaming babies, when we travel.

The jet lag is real.

Air New Zealand, the airline best know for its wild safety videos, looked at this rather bleak situation and decided to do something about it, and we really hope other airlines are taking notes.

Over to BusinessTraveller:

The airline showcased the sleep pods after three years of research and development with input from more than 200 customers at its Hangar 22 innovation centre in Auckland.

Mike Tod, Air New Zealand’s chief marketing and customer officer, said the airline is committed to “putting more magic back into flying” as it operates some of the world’s longest flights, such as the upcoming Auckland-New York service this October, which will have a flight duration of  up to 17 hours and 40 minutes one way.

Those sleep pods, or the ‘Economy Skynest’, will be in economy class.

I’ll let the airline tell you all about it:

Each Economy Skynest can accommodate six sleeping pods, complete with a full-size pillow, sheets and a blanket, and a privacy curtain so that no one has to see your deep sleep drool face.

It’s also exploring other features such as offering passengers a separate reading light, a USB outlet for personal devices and a ventilation outlet.

Each sleeping pods will be more than 200cm, while the width at the shoulder area will be 58cm.

The Economy Skynest will be placed in the economy cabin. The airline said the exact positioning of the Economy Skynest within the aircraft has yet to be confirmed.

Air New Zealand will decide whether or not to implement the Skynest next year.

I think I speak for everyone who has travelled long distance in economy class, when I say:

Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.

[source:businesstraveller]