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Comment by lambda | Hacker News Reader

Air New Zealand already offers the Skycouch, in which an additional portion of the seat folds up to make them wider and you can lay across all three seats: https://www.airnewzealand.com/economy-skycouch

I've flown on it once. It's not as nice as a real bed, you can't fully stretch out without sticking your legs into the aisle, but it's a heck of a lot nicer than trying to recline in a normal economy seat.

I don't know exactly how much it cost, since someone else had bought the tickets for me, and may have used frequent flyer benefits to offset the costs. I think you basically pay the cost of each extra seat, so it's not cheap, but cheaper than upgrading all the way to business class to get seats that recline all the way to flat. If you have someone you're comfortable sharing with, then you only pay for one extra seat for the two of you.

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I've just purchased this. For a 9 hour flight from Auckland to Honolulu, it's $230 USD additional per couple. Basically you're paying $230 for the extra seat, for more seat pitch, and for a leg rest that turns into a flat surface. It's really great!

That is a brilliant idea especially for couples with children on long hauls.

Not many people will pay for business on their own dime (business class generally not worth the multiplier -- it's a captive market for consultants and the wealthy), but some might consider buying an extra seat an extra seat if the price is right.

I can't sleep on airplanes, primarily because I can't sleep while sitting up. Even totally exhausted, I'll fall asleep for 20 minutes at most, before something becomes painful and wakes me up.

It's completely miserable on a transpacific because I arrive so very exhausted.

Still, business is WILDLY more expensive. There's no intermediate step to paying several times more. Is actually sleeping worth a few hundred dollars to me? Yes. A few thousand? No.

Premium Economy is a thing now and I’ve become a die hard. Is business worth $5000 more? No. But I’ll spend $400 more for a person sized seat and better food.

Premium Economy doesn't really solve the problem of not being able to lay down -- I can't sleep well when sitting, even in a Premium Economy seat that has a bit more recline.

But in a lay-flat seat, I can easily sleep for 7 - 8 hours (though still need a couple glasses of wine to kick-start it since bedtime on the plane doesn't usually coincide with my body's clock)

BA has one of the densest business class seats in the business, yet it takes up twice as much space as premium economy and 4 times as much space as business.

A quick look on the Uk-singapore route shows business as 5 times the price as economy.

But business is roughly double the price of economy. Do you need to buy an extra seat at the same price, or is it just a small premium available when they think the plane will be underbooked?

It's usually at least 3-4x, not double. On some routes, it's even up to 10x.

Also, here as a couple, you might have this just for 50% more (booking 3 seats instead of 2; assuming price per seat is the same)

Yeah First class on Chicago to Bismarck might be 2x but JFK to Heathrow is an easy 10x

You just need to look for flight sales (like you would for an economy ticket).

Example:

JFK to FRA, business class, A380 lie flat: $1,996USD

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premium-fare-deals/1894422-s...

That’s only a 2.3x multiple of the $875 economy fare.

Norwegian is ~$200 single New York - London

In theory, it's a good idea. In practice, it's barely big enough for a small child and a relatively small adult.

You still have to be somewhere around 5ft tall else your feet gonna stick out.

Also, let not forget Air NZ joke biz class...

That said I am keen for them to do 20hr flight direct to Europe. Somewhere like Istanbul, Poland or Finland seems feasible from what I researched.

Note: China Airlines also has these seats, branded "Family Couch".

I think the target price for the Skycouch seat is somewhat below retail for just buying a third seat, so in that respect it's a pretty good deal if you're already flying longhaul economy with a partner. I mean, I'd flat out pay the retail price to guarantee an empty third seat in a row, and Skycouch has other benefits. That said, while it's an improvement, nobody's going to have a relaxing time trying to have two people sleep lying down on that couch unless they're tiny, and the two people better be very comfortable with close contact.

In theory you can always just reserve and buy an empty seat next to you, but ticketing and check-in procedures are mildly trickier to guarantee that it'll stay empty. I've considered it for flying longhaul solo before but these days I'd generally rather just pay the premium for an upgrade rather than gamble with nonstandard ticketing arrangements.

Looks like these were cancelled -- https://www.china-airlines.com/us/en/fly/on-board/fleet/fami...

I don’t get why can’t we fold economy class seats into 3 layer bunks. It’s mostly air above, surely it’s possible to do some clever origami.

Fuck I would even sleep on a floor if it was allowed, but there are “reasons”.

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