Having to spend nine, twelve or even more hours crammed into a cramped economy seat on the ever-expanding non-stop flights is an ordeal for most passengers.

Who would know that better than locals from Down Under, i.e. from Australia and New Zealand.

The tyranny of distance is what Aussies and Kiwis call it, and all those who make the long journey to visit their delightful homelands at the southern end of the world.

The trend towards non-stop flights is increasing, especially in the wake of the pandemic, in parallel with the range of the latest aircraft.

From 2025, Qantas will implement its long-planned "Project Sunrise", non-stop flights from Sydney to London, among others, almost 17,000 kilometers with a flight duration that can sometimes approach 21 hours.

The airline with the kangaroo on the tail had actually announced that it would also be offering beds for economy passengers in its special version of the Airbus A350 for this route on the lower deck.

But then in May Qantas gave a foretaste of the future cabin interior – and apart from fewer seats and more distance, even in economy, there was nothing special – except for an unspecified “feel good zone” to get the circulation going with gymnastic exercises.

The Australians will probably have to reconsider that.

Have a nice dream - but only four hours

Because now Air New Zealand is pushing ahead and promising to install actual flying bunk beds on board for passengers in economy class from 2024 on the new non-stop route from Auckland to New York (scheduled flight duration 17 hours and 15 minutes).

Since the company no longer flies to London, New York has become a transfer airport to Europe. German cities can also travel to New Zealand with just one stop at JFK Airport.

The Kiwi airline, which has its homeland farthest from any other center in the world, is known for its innovations, especially in the back of the cabin.

Around ten years ago, she brought the Skycouch on board - the option of creating a large lying area from three specially equipped economy seats,

by filling the gap to the row in front with fold-out elements, conjuring up enough space to lie down, for example for an adult with a child.

At two and a half times the price of an economy seat, this is often an attractive offer, especially for young families.

The Japanese ANA has acquired the "heavenly sofas" under license and offers them in their Airbus A380s decorated with colorful turtles between Tokyo and Hawaii.

Now comes "Skynest".

In the rear economy cabin in the new Boeing 787-9 long-haul version, two rows of three middle economy seats have been dispensed with.

In their place is a container with six bunk beds, three on the left and three on the right up to the cabin ceiling.

Each features a curtain, fresh air vent and USB port plus individual lighting.

Bunk beds of this type or similar are not new or unusual on board passenger aircraft – they have only previously been used on the lower deck or above the cabin exclusively by the crews as a retreat during their work breaks.

"But selling that to passengers as part of an inflight commercial offering is extremely difficult and challenging," said Kerry Reeves, Air New Zealand's product guru.

For years he and his teams worked behind closed doors in secret hangars in Auckland on new developments, had seat models made of cardboard, plastic and wire and tested them extensively.

Few slots for many sleepers

The "Skynest" was five years in development, delayed by Corona, and the survey of experts and over 300 customers plus further market research took a total of 2571 hours.

And they're still not quite finished: "Balancing the technical requirements of engineers and the regulations of the approval authorities is hard, we're still working on that," says Kerry Reeves.

One thing is certain: all passengers must be buckled up in their booked seats for take-off and landing.

So on the 17-hour flight from Auckland to New York, there are about 16 hours left to occupy the beds.

Every passenger in Economy and Premium Economy Class can book a four-hour slot in a bed in advance, subject to availability. The price for this is not yet known, but should be manageable.

Theoretically, with a 16-hour flight, 24 lucky people could get hold of a layover, each one can only book one slot - in fact, with 175 to 246 economy seats on board in total, depending on the cabin variant, it will probably be a gamble to get hold of a four-hour bed .

Fresh bedding is of course raised for each use.

And the sky couch is still there, plus the business class suites for the more well-heeled – in which, however, the one-way route from New York to Auckland currently costs 7,400 US dollars.

Either way, a breakthrough that many imitators are to be wished for - because the desire to fly while lying down is a dream across all classes.