Ikara
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Airline introduces "cuddle class" and horizontal economy seating
Yahoo!7 December 23, 2010, 11:11 am
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Air New Zealand will launch a new economy seating deemed "cuddle class", the New Zealand Herald reports.
Allowing couples to purchase two full seats and a third for half price, the new seating arrangement will allow for two people to lie down and sleep on long-haul flights.
The first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will land in Auckland on Christmas Eve, including the new economy seating officially called Skycouch, media reports say.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said the Skycouch would re-define economy class air travel, "Four long years of planning and design are about to become a reality and there is a great deal of excitement within the airline about the game-changing aircraft we are about to introduce," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"Few if any airlines have invested time and money in re-designing the economy experience and we've done it for both economy and premium economy."
The airline is careful to avoid referring to the Skycouch as a bed, and they stress it will not replace the lie-flat bed experience for which business class travellers pay a premium.
Air New Zealand group general manager Ed Sims said that economy class passengers are ignored by most other airlines as they focus on the lucrative business and first-class markets.
The Boeing 777's first commercial flight will be from Auckland to Melbourne on January 10. A second 777 will be delivered in February next year, with the new aircraft flying the New Zealand-US route from April 2011.
JB
Yahoo!7 December 23, 2010, 11:11 am

Air New Zealand will launch a new economy seating deemed "cuddle class", the New Zealand Herald reports.
Allowing couples to purchase two full seats and a third for half price, the new seating arrangement will allow for two people to lie down and sleep on long-haul flights.
The first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will land in Auckland on Christmas Eve, including the new economy seating officially called Skycouch, media reports say.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said the Skycouch would re-define economy class air travel, "Four long years of planning and design are about to become a reality and there is a great deal of excitement within the airline about the game-changing aircraft we are about to introduce," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"Few if any airlines have invested time and money in re-designing the economy experience and we've done it for both economy and premium economy."
The airline is careful to avoid referring to the Skycouch as a bed, and they stress it will not replace the lie-flat bed experience for which business class travellers pay a premium.
Air New Zealand group general manager Ed Sims said that economy class passengers are ignored by most other airlines as they focus on the lucrative business and first-class markets.
The Boeing 777's first commercial flight will be from Auckland to Melbourne on January 10. A second 777 will be delivered in February next year, with the new aircraft flying the New Zealand-US route from April 2011.
JB