Air New Zealand has been receiving a lot of buzz over the last few days due to a yet to be revealed cabin renovation that is expected to be “revolutionary” according to industry insiders.

The new design, which will be in economy class, is expected to include lie-flat seating. But the airline has stressed that the seats will remain economy size.

Those same industry insiders expect other airlines to follow with this long overdue idea. One insider went as far as to say that “by the end of today the rest of the aviation world will be wishing they had thought of the changes first.”

Stay tuned for updates on this story.

Update (5:37pm): 

Air New Zealand just announced that it will offer the world’s first economy class bed-seat called the “Skycouch” on certain long haul flights between Auckland and Los Angeles starting this December, with plans to expand routes in 2011 and 2012.

The “Skycouch” combines a row of three seats along the window sides of
the aircraft, which can be transformed into a bed wide enough for
two people lying on their side.

In order to get these new feature, passengers would have to purchase two standard economy seats at full price and would receive the middle seat for about half.

Seats, if you can afford them, go on sale in April. So if you are willing to pay big bucks for luxury, Air New Zealand will be ready to accomodate you by year’s end.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

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