Air New Zealand Skycouch Review
A lay flat seat in economy? Yep, it’s real. And I’m not just talking about “poor man’s business class” where you have a row to yourself. Air New Zealand’s Skycouch takes it one step further and features footrests that flip up to form an entire bed complete with bedding.
I flew Air New Zealand’s Skycouch with my husband from Auckland to Chicago on their 787-9 Dreamliner. This flight clocked in at 14.5 hours, making it the longest flight I’ve ever taken. Now, let’s chat about everything you should know before deciding to book this unique product.
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What is Skycouch?
Skycouches are special rows in economy that have footrests that flip up to form a lie-flat bed across the 3 seats. They can be booked for 1-3 people per row.
Air New Zealand has brought Skycouch to the mainstream when they first introduced the product in 2011, but they’re not the only airline to feature this product. Lufthansa, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and even ANA (just to name a few) have followed suit with similar products.
Who is Skycouch ideal for?
After squeezing two adults into Skycouch, I will tell you the experience isn’t ideal for couples (unless you’re both short and thin). Skycouch is much more ideal for solo travelers or a parent with a young kid.
Absolutely do not book Skycouch with someone who you aren’t very close with. I can’t imagine how awkward it would be to share the couch with a coworker!
How to Book Skycouch
Air New Zealand is part of Star Alliance, so it’s possible to book seats on their planes with points though Star Alliance partners. Unfortunately, Skycouch policy states the following:
Economy Skycouch™ will only be available to add to bookings that are ticketed on Air New Zealand (086) paper and will not be offered on any Economy booking made in N class. Skycouch for 1 (SC1) and 2 (SC2) passengers is not available in Y, B and M booking classes.
I paid cash for my Skycouch tickets and booked directly through Air New Zealand. They’re the only airline that flies direct between Auckland and Chicago – perfect for me. We paid $1026 NZD (~$637 USD) for each economy seat plus an additional $825 NZD (~$512 USD) for the 3rd seat in the row. We made sure to pay with our Amex Platinum card to earn 5 points per dollar on these tickets. Just like regular airplane seats, the fees for Skycouch can vary. It’s more expensive to book the row as a solo traveler because you have to pay for 2 extra seats.
I knew I wanted Skycouch when I made the initial booking, so I added it on during seat selection. However, if there are rows still available, you can add it on at a later time. I also chose to book as soon as tickets opened up a year out just because I knew there would be limited availability and I really wanted to try this product.
Skycouch is only available on the rows adjacent to the window, not the center. I chose row 37 (which officially made both of our seats “37HJK”) because it was the 2nd Skycouch row. I figured that would decrease the chance of the people in front of me reclining their seats.
My Skycouch Experience
Amenities
All economy seats came with a small pillow, blanket, and earbuds. Each seat also featured a USB charger in the TV screen and a universal charger under the seat. The windows on the Dreamliner don’t have shades and instead have buttons that can dim. However, on our flight, we couldn’t adjust the windows ourselves. Another downside to this plane is that there are no personal air vents, but the cabin was kept at a comfortable temperature.
Unique to the Skycouch seats were a mattress pad and 2 full size pillows. We did still have the 3 small pillows and 3 blankets, even though there were only 2 of us. After takeoff, our flight attendant brought us a “cuddle belt” so that we could safely be buckled in even when lying flat. There was also a pamphlet diagraming how to set up Skycouch and use the belt.
The cuddle belts were collected 30 minutes before landing when we had to return the seat to its original position.
The Bed
After the first meal service, we got to work setting up the bed. It was slightly awkward to raise the seats and put the mattress pad and cuddle belt on, but it was quick work. There is a button on the armrest to raise the footrest and then you have to lift to lock it into the raised position.
We initially tried to cuddle, but given Thomas is 6’1”, it was difficult for him to find a comfortable position while keeping his feet out of the aisle (the couch is only 5’1” long x 29” wide). He quickly gave up and decided to just sit in the aisle seat as normal, while giving me the other 2 seats to curl up. We’d predicted this might happen when we originally booked it, and we were absolutely right.
For me, even with only 2/3 of the Skycouch, I was very comfortable. In fact, it was actually the best I’ve ever slept on a plane. I credit this partly to being on a Dreamliner (which is noticeably quieter) and lucking out having minimal turbulence. But the other major factor was that the bed was wider than most business class seats, so I was able to comfortably curl up and sleep on my side (my preferred position).
Having full size pillows definitely made a difference over the tiny ones that are standard in economy.
In Flight Entertainment
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens were standard across economy, but I want to review it because it contributed to the overall flight experience.
The most unique feature of the IFE was that you could message someone in another seat. This was cute but not really necessary because even if you were sitting far from your travel buddies, the flight also included free Wi-Fi, so you could just shoot them an iMessage, WhatsApp, etc. The Wi-Fi was a tad intermittent though and didn’t work much on the second half of the flight.
Thomas was able to watch NFL games live on the TV as our flight was on a Sunday. That was a nice touch for a non-US airline to offer.
I personally judge airlines based on the quality and quantity of the Friends episodes they offer. Air New Zealand scored high marks by having 13 episodes of Season 10 on our November 2023 flight. Weirdly though, when I clicked on “The One Where Ross is Fine,” “The One Where Nana Dies Twice” (from season 1) played in its place.
Food
Like the IFE, the food is exactly the same as the rest of economy. For our first meal, dinner was a choice between Mexican braised beef/yellow rice/beans OR creamy chicken with mushrooms and leaks on orzo pasta. Thomas and I both chose the former and it was quite good, especially by economy airline standards. It also came with quinoa and edamame cold salad, bread/butter, cheese, rice wafers, chocolate mousse, and caramel dessert. It was so much food I couldn’t even finish everything.
New Zealand is very proud of their wine, and Air New Zealand makes sure to feature local wines. In fact, some flight attendants are qualified Wine Consultants who can help you decide which wine to pair with your meal. I don’t like to drink on planes (they’re already so dehydrating!), but Thomas ordered a glass. The flight attendant asked him if he was old enough (he’s 29 and you only have to be 18 to drink on this flight)! We got a good laugh out of that.
They came around offering a midnight snack either a warm chicken or vegetarian panini. I only took a bite of the chicken, but was still pretty full from dinner and went back to sleep.
Breakfast was a choice of an egg and bacon pie or a Mexican breakfast burrito with chicken. I didn’t care for the pie but the sides of a fruit salad, overnight oats, and blueberry muffin were plenty of food.
Water was brought out regularly throughout the flight (along with more drinks during meal services).
We were also offered the hard candies that were standard across all 4 Air New Zealand flights we took.
Service was excellent throughout the flight and our flight attendant, Brett, even came by every row and personally thanked us and chatted at the end of the flight.
Final Thoughts on Skycouch
I would absolutely fly Air New Zealand’s Skycouch again, but if I was traveling with Thomas again, I’d spring for each of us to get our own rows. If the choice came down to Skycouch or premium economy, I think I’d pick Skycouch (business class would still win out over both for the food, amenity kit, etc.).
Consider this my formal petition for more airlines to introduce the Skycouch product. I’ll be on the first flight if they do.
Air New Zealand is certainly one of the most innovative airlines when it comes to their hard products. They have one of the most unique business class layouts (love it or hate it, it’s definitely unique!) and the innovative Skycouch. In 2024 Air New Zealand debuts their new Skynest, which feature bunk beds at the back of economy that you can rent in 4-hour increments. I’m definitely curious to see how that stacks up against Skycouch!
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