SkynestAir New Zealand

THE CLEVER

Air New Zealand’s have taken out an award for airline innovation at the Crystal Cabin Awards during the week, with their Skynest concept winning the prize for giving the common person business class privileges.

The Skynest is a way to make sleeping more accessible on long haul flights for those that can't afford business, and it might just pave the way for other airlines to follow suit.

The Skynest is a block of six sleep pods in a bunk bed configuration which can be rented in four hour slots each flight, allowing passengers to put their head down and actually lay flat for a while. Pretty handy for some of Air New Zealand’s flights, like the 17-hour direct flight between New York City and Auckland, which is one of the longest in the world. It's been received well and

The Kiwis also added the Economy Skycouch to their growing range of ‘things that make your flight way better’.

It's essentially just a row of economy seats that can change into a couch after take-off, with a special footrest on each set to make it a little more practical. It’s not rocket science, but like the Skynest, it helps you lay down and sleep on a flight – invaluable in our book.

The not so clever

While the Skynest and Skycouch have been hailed as universal winners, we’re not quite sure about the double decker concept, which has been floated in recent days as another potential innovation in the air.

The double-decker conceivably means more seats could be squeezed into a plan, and you would think more leg room down low.

The downside would be having the seat in front of you a few inches from your face at all times. It doesn’t look too comforting.

It is only a concept at this stage, but we couldn’t imagine many things much more claustrophobic than this seating arrangement for a long haul flight.

Credit: Archbishop of Banterbury