Long haul flights with young children aren’t exactly fun. The discomfort of economy seats alone are usually enough to ensure that none of you are going to get any rest.
But one mum has discovered that there’s an ingenious and affordable way to make long flights with the family much more comfortable – and the upgrade only costs $200 (£104). A steal.
Adele Barbaro shared the details of the upgrade on her Facebook page, describing how she paid the relatively small fee for a flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, which meant she could turn her entire row into a bed.
No more waking up with a crick in your neck and cramp in your thighs – the Sky Couch allows you to stretch out across all three seats, so you can all get some proper shut-eye.
This clever travel hack is available on certain Air New Zealand flights. The Sky Couch seats are essentially the same as economy seats, but they come with an additional footrest which can fold upwards to form a bed-like surface.
‘If there is two of you travelling, you can purchase a third seat at half price and you will get the entire row to yourself,’ explained Adele in her Facebook post.
‘The leg rests all rise to meet the chair in front and create a completely flat, large play or sleep area. Paul and Harvey had a bed and so did Chloe and I.
‘It’s the next best thing to business (but way cheaper) and perfect for long haul flights with young families. And we all slept.’
Adele’s post has already attracted more than 30,000 comments on Facebook with other parents loving the idea, or sharing their own stories of experiencing it with their families.
‘Oh we’ve had this before and we LOVED it,’ said Kirsty.
‘It was just us and one baby – a MUCH better option than the bassinet seats as I could lie down and feed and both me and baby could sleep (while his dad binge-watched movies! Haha!)’
Some expressed frustration that this option wasn’t more widely available.
‘I wish every airline would allow this as it would be very handy when travelling to Ireland which is two flights first one 14hrs and second one 8hrs but unfortunately they won’t let us use them,’ said Edel.
The upgrade is currently available on Boeing 777 and 787-9 aircrafts with Air New Zealand, and prices depend on demand, availability and destination.
