Air New Zealand is known for pushing frontiers in aircraft interior design, particularly in the economy cabin. The airline has good reason to – New Zealand is famously far from a majority of the Western world, so flights to destinations such as New York can take upwards of 15 hours. Even their routes to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo take over 10 hours, where many will be connecting onto a separate flight into Europe.
Yesterday, Air New Zealand’s new Skynest concept went on sale. This post will explore what the concept is, how it’s priced across the network, and how the airline has decided to execute the concept on its Auckland-New York route. The first flight with Skynest is slated to launch on December 24th, 2026.
Air New Zealand’s Skynest Concept: A Capsule Hotel In The Air
Air New Zealand is launching a Skynest concept in economy class. The concept consists of six bunk beds located in the front of the economy cabin, which you can book for a four-hour session for an additional fee (more on this later). You’ll be situated in your economy or premium economy seat for the rest of your flight.
Air New Zealand’s Skynest Concept
Here are some details of the Skynest concept (you can find out more here):
- Skynest comes with fresh linen, a blanket or pillow for your session, on top of the standard economy amenities. You’ll also get earplugs and an eye mask
- The bed is 80″ (6’8″/2.03 m) long and 25″ (0.63 m) wide at its widest point
- You can bring water, but not other food and drinks, to prevent spillage
- There will be privacy curtains as well, though the Skynest will be positioned quite close to the lavatories (this is something that they couldn’t really control, in order to maximise space – I’d need to try the product out to see whether it would be a nuisance)
- You can book either Session A (after the first meal service for four hours), or Session B (after the four hours for Session A lapse). The terms and conditions state that allocation is not guaranteed – I suspect this may be needed, in case of accidents in the nests.
- On a (mostly) unrelated note, I’m not convinced that lying down immediately after a meal service with no option of sitting up is the most helpful
I’ll talk about pricing in a bit below, as there’s been some confusion on this.
Passengers can book Skynest for four hours during their economy flight
If you’ve stayed in a capsule hotel before, the dimensions are roughly similar – it’s a perfectly fine sleeping surface to get some rest, though won’t be a great solution if you have claustrophobia. At the same time, the pricing is much lower than what you’d see in business class, which is the only other place you’d get a lie-flat seat.
The first flight will debut on December 24, 2026, and fly from Auckland to New York. It’ll then return the same evening (due to the time difference).
As mentioned earlier, this isn’t the first of the airline’s innovations in the economy cabin. Air New Zealand already pioneered the Economy Skycouch concept, where you can create a flat surface over three seats by raising up an adjustable legrest.
The Skycouch concept is slightly different from Skynest, as the Skycouch is only 4’1″, which is too short to lie across. However, those who are booked in Skycouch have it for the entire duration of the flight, unlike in Economy Skynest. I don’t believe you can book the Skynest and the Skycouch at the same time.
Air New Zealand’s Skycouch concept
How To Book A Skynest On Air New Zealand
First things first – you’ll need to be booking a route that’s operated by an Air New Zealand 787 with a Skynest seat. The inaugural flight with Skynest is launching on December 24, 2026 – this will be known as the “787 V5” within Air New Zealand. Do note that while the airline will have their newest business class, premium economy, and economy class on these new 787s, these aircraft won’t be the first to get those other cabins – in fact, there are 787s with the new cabins already flying (I missed out on one of those recently, and flew a version of their older 787 from Auckland to Hong Kong).
If the flight you’re booking features Skynest, you’ll see it on the booking page, when you’re selecting a flight. You’ll also be able to select Skynest if you’re flying in premium economy, which will be priced identically.
Enter your passenger and contact details and head over to the “Extras” page, and you’ll see the option to add a Skynest to your booking. You’ll also be able to do this with the “Manage Your Booking” page.
If you decide to add the Skynest to your booking, you’ll be able to either choose Session A (after the first meal service), or Session B (four hours after the first meal service, right after cabin crew change the bedding once Session A is complete). Presumably this dual rotation will only be available for flights with eight hours between meal services, as it’s currently just available on the flight between Auckland and New York.
Additionally, since the New York to Auckland return runs for 17 hours (presumably with much more than eight hours between meal services), I’m not sure how they’ll regulate that the Skynests aren’t used outside of that eight-hour period, or whether they’ll try and sell a shorter third duration onboard the flight.
You’ll also be able to select a top, middle, or bottom bunk. The airline has released extensive information on accessibility for each of the bunks. The top bunks will require climbing a ladder to access, the middle bunks can be accessed while standing, whereas the bottom bunks will have to be crawled into. All of the bunks are priced the same.
Air New Zealand’s Skynest Is NZ$495 (US$289/£215), Not US$495
I’m not sure whether it’s just our aviation media industry being slightly careless to pick up the number, though I’m seeing various sources inaccurately quoting a list price of US$495 for four hours (including an unnamed blogger even saying that he confirmed with the CEO, despite him being inaccurate). The true price is NZ$495 (US$289/£215/HK$2,267) for four hours. Since this is for a four-hour block, the NZ$495 price will apply regardless of route, since the number of hours you’re spending in the pod is the same.
I’m not being pedantic – US$495 for four hours is a lot for me, though NZ$495 is marginally more than I’d pay for a hotel, and a novelty considering I’m otherwise on a 17-hour flight in economy.
In the above dummy booking, here’s how much my flight came to – the base fare was NZ$1,669 (US$975/£727/HK$7,632) for the one-way, 16-hour flight, and once I added a Skynest session, the total came to NZ$2,164 (US$1,263/£943/HK$9,896). That’s roughly equivalent to an upgrade from economy to premium economy.
Air New Zealand’s Skynest vs. Premium Economy/Business – Which is Better?
So would I rather have a comfortable premium economy seat throughout the flight, or be wedged in economy in a 3-3-3 configuration with a buy-up to a Skynest for four hours? It’s hard to tell, really, as I have nothing to compare the product to. I personally sleep pretty well in a premium economy product so would guess premium economy would be my pick, though I’d have to give this product a try (you can also buy-up to Skynest when flying premium economy).
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy
Of course in either case, business class will be more comfortable – you’ll get a bigger bed for the duration of the flight, and it’ll feel much less claustrophobic. However, the prices for a Skynest are much lower than what you’ll get in business class.
My guess is that if you struggle to sleep in anything but a flat bed, but don’t have claustrophobia, this may be the product for you if you don’t mind the small price premium. £215 is honestly quite reasonable for four hours in a lie-flat bed in the air – regional business class seats go for much more expensive than this. However, if you can sleep well in premium economy, I’d go for that instead, given that you’ll otherwise have a more spacious experience for the other hours in the flight.
Conclusion
Air New Zealand has started selling their Skynest concept between Auckland and New York. There’s been some misinformation on pricing out there, as the NZ$495/US$293/£215 price point is quite reasonable for a four-hour chunk on an ultra-longhaul flight. This won’t be for everyone – especially if you’re claustrophobic, sensitive to noise, or a budget traveller who can otherwise sleep well in economy – though it’s a viable buy-up option if you’d otherwise appreciate a lie-flat space for a few hours for a much lower cost than in business class.
Would you fly the Economy Skynest on Air New Zealand?
