Let’s face it—for people not making that much, buying a business class seat is a pain in the wallet.

Those who are not willing to shell out a ridiculous amount in exchange of a premium seating must swallow pride and fly inside the noisy, crowded, and movement-restricting economy class cabin.

Well, this is not the case anymore, at least with Air New Zealand. Removing an inconvenient custom in airline travel industry, Air New Zealand has just announced changes in their Economy cabin layouts and presented a new feature called the SkyCouch—an option wherein passengers can turn 3 seats into a bed big enough to lie flat and stretch out.

The SkyCouch is especially designed for couples and families who want to purchase an entire row. Passengers just have to pay half of the price of the third seat to enjoy the couch feature. Parents can get a separate row and have their children lie in another row across from or behind them.

Air New Zealand commissioned the services of Recaro to re-design the seats. With mechanisms similar to car seats, the plane seats are converted into sleep-friendly SkyCouches by pushing a button in the armrest. The airline made sure that each of the seat’s cushions aligns perfectly with each other to give passengers a flat, smooth, and solid surface to lie in.

The ends of the row have a built-in foot net to provide a more comfortable leg position and at the same time prevent the feet from extending into the aisle. All of these are packed by upgraded amenities like an improved sleep pillow, a PC power socket, and USB and iPod connections.

The first trips of the SkyCouch-designed planes are scheduled this December 2010. Economy passengers of flights to and from Auckland and Los Angeles will be the pioneer testers of the new sitting feature. This will be followed by flights on to London in 2011. The whole of Asia, North America and the UK will have the chance to experience the coaches by 2012.

Pushing the touch of luxury in Economy cabin further, Air New Zealand will also offer Snacks on Demand, a great option for passengers who want to order more food and drinks in between the three course meal service by using the inflight television screen. (Jezriel M)

Source: Gadling, Anglotopia