Air New Zealand reveals new lie-flat economy beds!

This morning Air New Zealand unveiled its brand new lie-flat beds for economy class travellers.

The Economy Skynest - which provides six full-length lie-flat sleep pods - is the result of three years of research and development, with the input of more than 200 customers at its Hangar 22 innovation centre in Auckland.

The exact positioning of the Economy Skynest within the aircraft has still to be confirmed, however, it will be in the Economy cabin.

The overall length of the sleeping pods would be more than 200cm with 58cm width at the shoulder area.

It is intended that each pod will include a full-size pillow, sheets and blanket, ear plugs along with privacy curtains and lighting designed for sleep. The airline is exploring other features such as separate reading light, personal device USB outlet and ventilation outlet.

No prices have been divulged but the airline's Skycouch is priced just below that of premium economy.

Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Mike Tod says that as the airline operates some of the world's longest flights, such as the upcoming Auckland-New York service at up to 17 hours 40 minutes one way, it is committed to putting more magic back into flying.

"We have a tremendous amount of development work underway looking at product innovations we can bring across all cabins of the aircraft. A clear pain point for economy travellers on long-haul flights is the inability to stretch out. The development of the Economy Skynest is a direct response to that challenge," Tod said.

Air New Zealand will make a final decision on whether to operate the Economy Skynest next year after it has assessed the performance of its inaugural year of Auckland-New York operations.