Air New Zealand unveils its economy lie-flat seats for the 787-9

Here is a great idea that we hope will be adopted by more airlines. As recently noted on Flight Blogger and starting in November of 2010 when Boeing delivers its first 777-300ER to Air New Zealand, the first 11 rows in economy will feature a new "Skycouch" that will provide a lie-flat experience. To take advantage of this, two adults must purchase two seats and a third seat at roughly half the price and the target market for the offering are couples or a small families. The airline intends to offer the service on selected Auckland to Los Angeles flights and eventually Auckland to London (Via Los Angeles) starting in April 2011.

However, there are still questions about how they will manage the revenue on this unique offering. Nevertheless and if such an experiment does end up working, the “Skycouch” will definitely provide the best long-haul flight experience on the market for economy class passengers.