Who's Ready to Fly Lying Down?

Wed Aug 8, 2007 12:33PM EDT

See Comments (11)

If you're the kind of guy the pops an Ambien before climbing aboard a transatlantic flight, you're definitely not alone. Long flights are so miserable that most people only want to sleep through the ordeal. But if you're not the pill-popping type, getting decent sleep while sitting at nearly a 90-degree angle can be next to impossible.

Many first class cabins have lie-flat seats now, but the four-figure price is out of reach for most travelers. Is there a way to bring lie-flat seating to the misery that is coach? Lufthansa thinks there might be.

The key to getting enough travelers into the seats is to stack them like bunk beds: Lufthansa's digital mockup shows them three high throughout the cabin, looking very much like a military barracks. This is either very cool or extremely scary, depending on your point of view. As Consumerist wonders: What's to keep a "shower of crumbs and baby powder" from raining down on people in the lower bunks? Lord knows you want to be on the top of this stack.

While there's clearly a lot of work to be done on this idea (which customers have expressed a sincere interest in), there has at least been some basic attention paid to the issue of safety, and the beds will begin and end the flight as regular seats, "converting" into the bunks sometime after takeoff. Meal service is another issue. The conversion system sounds like a recipe for disaster so far (where do people go while the beds are made?), but maybe they can get the kinks worked out of this idea, you know, before we run out of oil.

Would you want to fly this way? 

LINK: Welcome to sardine air 

Comments on Who's Ready to Fly Lying Down?

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 1 Posted by justiceinmexico on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Funny. This reminds me of the movie "The Fifth Element". And many others by the way. It just seems so unpractical. And by the way, if such a thing were even possible, I would choose the lower bunk. I would hate to climb stairs to go to the restroom.

  • 2 Posted by aviasphere on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    ..and the chances of one getting out alive in case of emergency... two..... slim and none

  • 3 Posted by michael_w_anderson on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    Having flown Lufthansa to Frankfurt from Denver and back, I know just how hot and miserable that flight is. Personally, if I could afford it, I'd fly first class and stretch out. But, financially that is out of the question. Technically, I don't think the "bunk bed" idea is feasible except maybe on the largest of future planes. For now, I guess we'll just have to suffer the slave galleys we call coach or economy...

  • 4 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sorry, this looks too much like a flying mortuary... you wont get me to fly on one of those... not even for free...

  • 5 Posted by emarr3 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    i would definitely welcome this way to fly. i can't tell you how many times i've wished for even a semi-reclined position. i intentionally deprive myself of sleep before a long flight and take benadryl and i still only get 3 hours at most. bunk beds should have lounge chair option, head tilt and a foot break, for those that will demand both.

More Posts: First Prev 1 2 Next Last

Post a Comment


My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.