Air NZ launches economy-class Skycouch in Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Air New Zealand has installed 14 Kiwi-designed Skycouch rows in its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The Skycouch is a row of three economy seats that together create a flat and flexible space for passengers to relax and stretch out, or for kids to use as a play area. It was designed to provide passengers, mainly families or group of acquaintances, with extra space and comfort and to help ease their stress about long-haul flights.

Passengers who want to have a lie-flat space just need to touch the buttons installed on their seats, which would prompt the footrest underneath the seat to pop out.

The Economy Skycouch fee calculation is based on the number of passengers occupying the group of seats. Booking an Economy Skycouch will allocate three economy seats. Skycouch can be booked on a sector-by-sector basis.

787-9 Dreamliner, painted in a unique black livery, is the first of 10 Dreamliners to join the Air New Zealand's fleet. The airplane, according to Air New Zealand, made its first flight to China in November 2014 on the Shanghai-Auckland route. The aircraft places a special focus on cabin comfort.

Air New Zealand, based in Auckland, New Zealand, is the country's national airline and flag carrier. It adopts an innovative approach to enhance its international influence, such as launching in-flight safety videos inspired by the latest hot issues, revealing the film Hobbit's image of the dragon Smaug on one of its planes, and also developing the innovative Economy Skycouch.