Air New Zealand plans Skynest for New York flights; eyes return to London

Air New Zealand is getting closer to launching bunk beds in Economy on some of the world’s longest flights. With the Kiwi airline already offering non-stop Auckland-New York services, the new offering is set to make Economy flying more bearable. For an extra charge, of course.

Rather than sitting bolt upright for 17 hours, travellers could book a four-hour respite in Skynest. This could help break up the journey, get some shut-eye, and make the flight go by a little faster. But it seems, installing Skynest onto its planes is costing Air New Zealand a handful of regular seats. The carrier is betting that enough people will be willing to pay the extra, to justify the opportunity cost.

Speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Cairns this month, the airline’s Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Jeremy O’Brien, has more to share.

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Air New Zealand’s Skynest brings flying flat to Economy

Normally, stretching out and flying flat is reserved for travellers booking Business Class – or the airline’s previous innovation, Economy Skycouch. But Air New Zealand will bring this luxury to Economy on ultra-long-haul flights, such as to New York. Here’s the catch. Securing a time in the Skynest bunk comes at an extra charge – and at most, you’ll get four hours.

It’s unlikely you’ll be able to pay the fee twice for a clear eight-hour block. If that’s the goal, you’ll need to book Business Class. Instead, Skynest has a different target market.

O’Brien explains that the target market will include “mums and dads to get away from the kids for a couple of hours, have a rest. I quite like that one,” he quips. Perhaps, “an entire family (will) decide to go in there. I guess we’ll find out!”

To have Skynest onboard “takes five economy seats out. Three at the front – and then you have to move the galley to the back of the aircraft. (That) takes another two seats out. So it’s some economics there, but we believe it’s a really good product for ultra long haul.”

“On a route like New York, you can probably put 3x four-hour slots in. It’s 12 hours, within what can be between a 16-to-17-hour block. You’ve got to account for taxi, take-off and landing. So that kind of takes a little bit of time out. And then from a customer perspective, you might want to have a meal … so there’s kind of 12 hours that we feel is a pretty good slot,” for passengers using Air New Zealand’s Skynest.

First, New York… then, a return to London?

Air New Zealand previously offered flights between Auckland and London via Los Angeles. These faced the axe in 2020 – and haven’t returned. The airline had been planning to resume London flying this year, but the possibility of a UK return is now pushed until 2026 at the earliest.

“London is a spiritual home for a number of Kiwis, right? Kiwis coming out of high school and university. The pilgrimage up into the UK into London is kind of in their DNA,” O’Brien observes. “We’ve got historical ties that are very strong with the mother nation. And, we’ve got a lot of Kiwis up in the UK and Europe who want to have really strong ties and want to come back to New Zealand. They want to fly Air New Zealand.”

But whether those flights would follow the previous path via Los Angeles is currently up in the air. “I wouldn’t default think that it’s going to be LA. It’s definitely in the mix, but there are other options as well. You’ve got to think about the customer journey, customer experience and other considerations that come to that.” That’s a hint to the transit process in the United States in general, requiring all transit flyers to clear US passport control and Customs. Even if they’re only in transit. By extension, this also requires all London-bound flyers to have a US visa or ESTA.

“So we’re considering a couple of different transit points into London. (Including) how we work with alliance partners like United and Singapore.” Hint: flights to London won’t necessarily travel via the United States, or even via broader North America. It could be a route through Asia, which could see Air NZ overlap with Qantas between Singapore and London.

Speaking of London in general, “it’s a market that’s worth reappraisal for us and it’s definitely a high priority for us.” Watch this space!

Also read: Will Air New Zealand’s Skynest make Business Class obsolete?