Top News, Economy Class now called Cuddle Class on Air New Zealand

San Franciscans traveling on long-haul flights to New Zealand  will be delighted to hear about the new economy class seating on board Air New Zealand.

It's been nicknamed "Cuddle Class".

The once difficult, sleepless, 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Auckland can now be a breeze.

Air New Zealand's new Boeing 777-3000 aircraft includes the Skycouch, the first economy seating that allows travelers to lie flat or a couple to curl up.

Couples or those with very young children are most likely to make best use of the seating.

Air New Zealand's general manager international, Ed Sims, said he and the project team had "lived and breathed" the redesign project for three years.

Each plane will have 22 sets of Skycouch seats, which will be priced on passengers buying two economy tickets and paying half-price for a third.

 Air New Zealand will begin installing the "Skycouch", a Kiwi-designed row of three economy seats providing a flat surface for two adults to sleep on, at the end of this year when it takes delivery of the first of its new Boeing 777-300 aircraft.

The cost will be slightly more than buying two economy class seats, but having all three seats together with the arm rests fully retracting and the seats having a platform that extends out to meet the seats in front, while allowing a degree of privacy, will be worth it.

Air New Zealand had looked at the possibility of bunk beds, but in focus groups people said they didn't like the fact that their privacy was gone and they felt they'd have to watch their belongings more vigilantly.

The new economy seats come with small added comforts, such as a pillow that fits over the winged head rest, a port for your iPod, and a larger entertainment monitor.

A hammock foot net at the base of the seat in front is on the way, said Air New Zealand's project manager Kerry Reeves.

But the jewel is the lie-flat seating.

Chief executive, Rob Fyfe, said true innovation often came from setting impossible targets. He is hoping the Skycouch wins over passengers tired of struggling for sleep in economy class.

"I said, 'it would be great if we could have passengers able to lie down in economy, but I don't want the seat to take up any more space and I don't want people to have to pay any more for it'."

The first Air New Zealand routes to offer travelers the new seats will be on selected services between Auckland and Los Angeles from December this year. The flights from Auckland to San Francisco will come later.

Meanwhile San Franciscans traveling to New Zealand, who want to take advantage of the Cuddle Class seats, can fly from SFO to LAX flight and then connect with a flight to New Zealand.  Air New Zealand and airfares can be found online at www.kayak.com.

"That's amazing," says San Francisco travel writer, Ed Walsh.  "Somebody should have thought of it a long time ago."

We couldn't agree more.

See the slide show below for how Air New Zealand sees the seat configuration working.

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