jamesie_version1

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is the wrong area, Im not sure where to put it.

I am a final year masters engineering student who has the needs to manufacture/design a novel-ish mechanical product.. Combining my love of flying with my hatred of economy class I've thought of a new idea, and am looking for you advice/views on whether its a good idea.

I don't want to say too much at this stage, but its essentially means a flyer has the opportunitity to lie-flat during the flight after take off, although with limitations on the amount of personal space available.. In my head I would squeeze it between economy and business.. Priced something like BA WT+, or SAS Economy Extra but with a lie flat bed..

Let me know what you think..

Thanks,

James

pmax

I think economy extra sucks worse than I could have imagined had I just heard about it and not been forced to experience it multiple times on my paid C ticket.

wb8iny

Hi James,
You have to remember many of us on FT are "road warriers", and comments on E seating may be touchy..... That said, it's not in "our" (FT) relm as to how to make the Economy experience pleasant...... It is all about economics, and what people will pay for. United has Economy Plus (E+), allowing a little extra legroom, which for me on TATL flights is a Godsend. But, I get that as an elite.

It is available to others as a buy-up, but I don't see many going that route. Mom and Pop want the lowest price.

So, your question becomes what will people pay for. Airlines are interested in revenue! Describe your idea, and how it will make money for XX! You will get plenty of responses.

SensFan

This sounds a bit like the triple bunks that Lufthansa is considering on their A380. Google airbus triple bunk for pictures.

Kiwi Flyer

business class by shifts?

AnalogMan

If they can work out the logistics (how does the top bunk person get up/down) and safety issues (how to seatbelt a person lying flat) it would be a big step in air travel.

I like the idea and definitely would enjoy having the option ^

jamesie_version1

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies, and the apologies for the mere mention of economy class

I wasn't aware of the LH triple bunk! I thought I had a great idea - although my idea involves a seat coverting to bunk beds after say dinner mid-flight instead of fixed beds.. I reckon I can provide these 2 bunk beds in the size of 2 economy extra seats, possibly slightly more than 2 when i get down to sizes.. I realise that airlines are strapped at the minute, but an airline who can offer a flat bed at an economy price are bound to get a lot of interest.. I know my previous company would never dream of flying employees business class, but could possibly streach to economy sleeper at times...

Thanks,

James

jennj99738

My god, those bunks (on the Airbus, not yet what you describe, James) remind me of a prison --or sleep-away camp. I hate sleeping in coach seats but I don't know if I could handle those "wards," either.

stupidhead

Sleepaway camp-that's the first thing I thought of too!!! And yeah, frankly, I'd rather sit. I can't sleep on planes anyway, although if they had those sleeping capsule-type things that they have in Japan, where you'd just crawl in and there's enough headroom to basically sit up for most people and you'd just sleep and it's got a TV and stuff. I guess kind of like crew rests.

Tony_B

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

not a new idea. It just doesn't fit with business model