{"id":408850,"date":"2026-05-02T20:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T20:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/408850\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T20:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T20:27:18","slug":"this-airline-offers-bunk-beds-for-its-long-haul-flights-but-they-come-with-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/408850\/","title":{"rendered":"This airline offers bunk beds for its long-haul flights, but they come with rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Air New Zealand wants to offer a more decent mid-flight sleep on long-haul flights in small lie-flat bunks for economy passengers\u00a0\u2013 but with rules.<\/p>\n<p>In what the airline calls a unique service worldwide, passengers will be able to book the sleeping spaces from May 18, 2026, with the bunks set to be introduced on selected long-haul flights from November.<\/p>\n<p>The airline&#8217;s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes now feature six stacked sleeping cabins installed between economy and premium economy, bookable in addition to a regular seat.<\/p>\n<p>No crumbs from the last passenger<\/p>\n<p>Each bunk has a full-length mattress, fresh bedding, dimmed lighting, ventilation, a charging point and an in-pod seat belt. There is also a kit with an eye mask and earplugs.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Air New Zealand is enforcing clear rules, first and foremost: no bunking up. Anyone hoping to join the mile-high club should know that the airline says &#8220;visitors aren&#8217;t permitted&#8221;\u00a0\u2013 no more than one person is allowed per bunk.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, privacy is limited in the bunks, with only a curtain separating you from nearby passengers in other bunks. The airline is also calling on passengers to be quiet, make only &#8220;gentle movement&#8221; and climb the ladders &#8220;with grace rather than gymnastics&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The bunks are slim in size, measuring 203cm in length and 64cm at the shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>Another important rule is no bedtime snacks, and there is strictly no eating in the bunks. &#8220;Crumbs in bed are the fastest way to ruin a good nap,&#8221; the airline says.<\/p>\n<p>To use the bunk you must also be over 15 years old, meaning a parent can&#8217;t bring a young child with them for a nap.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"You can book the pods for a maximum of four hours throughout your long-haul flight, after which you would need to return to your seat. \u2013 Air New Zealand\/dpa \" src=\"https:\/\/apicms.thestar.com.my\/uploads\/images\/2026\/04\/30\/3885987.jpeg\" onerror=\"this.src=\" https:=\"\" style=\"width: 800px; height: 566px;\"\/>You can book the pods for a maximum of four hours throughout your long-haul flight, after which you would need to return to your seat. \u2013 Air New Zealand\/dpa<\/p>\n<p>Four hours max, then back to your seat<\/p>\n<p>The airline said its bed system had been developed over years and tested on more than 200 people. Company chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar pointed to New Zealand&#8217;s special location, saying that for a remote country the quality of the journey was crucial. More comfort could help travellers accept longer flight times, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Passengers will still need a regular seat but can additionally book a four-hour sleeping slot at a cost of NZ$495 (RM1,151). Passengers can only book one session per flight, meaning you won&#8217;t get your full eight hours horizontally.<\/p>\n<p>The airline said the sleep time windows are outside of meal service so travellers can rest without being woken up.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;Skynest&#8217; is initially available on the Auckland-New York route, which at around 17 hours is one of the world&#8217;s longest commercial flights.\u00a0\u2013 dpa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Air New Zealand wants to offer a more decent mid-flight sleep on long-haul flights in small lie-flat bunks&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9293,163491,15033,210357,138,93385,70,124998,111,139,69,2863,10097,11418],"class_list":["post-408850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-air-new-zealand","tag-asia-oceania","tag-aviation","tag-bunk-beds","tag-business","tag-dreamliner","tag-flight","tag-long-haul","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sleep","tag-tourism","tag-trends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}