Lufthansa is looking into the idea of providing economy-class bunk beds on its long international flights. From the Daily Mail:
Economy-class passengers have had to settle for being packed into tightly regimented reclining seats for extended periods of travel, which have been blamed for causing potentially fatal blood clots known as deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT, in susceptible individuals.
Until now, airlines have been reluctant to introduce fully reclining seats in economy class because they require more space.
This reduces the number of passengers and decreases profit for the carriers.
But by stacking beds one on top of another, the airline can make use of the normally unused space in the cabin above fliers.
Lufthansa revealed computer-generated pictures of its triple-decker bunk beds as part of a customer survey it conducted among selected customers to see if the idea had wings.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said,
“We are going to analyze the results of the survey and then we will decide whether to proceed or not. But the first results have been very positive.” No word yet on how the bunk beds would be adjusted so that passengers could eat their snacks, or what prevents a shower of crumbs and baby powder and god-knows-what-else from landing on the lower bunks, but whatever. We think it’s a cool idea that needs a lot of work. Does a bunk bed flight appeal to you?
Welcome to sardine air: Airline introduces triple bunk beds in economy [Daily Mail]
(Photo:Daily Mail)
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I would so fly this. This would be great for longer stuff. I flew to China a few months ago and I would have loved to have this.
I could see sleeping like that with friends around, but I don’t think I’d sleep well in those close quarters with a bunch of strangers.
It appeals, especially if you have to fly often, but I bet some people would be too noisy or frightened during the flights.
Some of them may just start talking to each other; or there may be some mile-high club thing going on in the background as well.
It’d probably be more plausible if things were more segregated, but due to space concerns, I’d doubt they’d do such a thing.
I would love this for long flights.
where does the carry-on luggage go?
Sign me up. I’m already a Lufthansa frequent flier; all the more reason to fly them.
That would be a welcome method of travel for those long flights to India. Twelve hours in a seat really sucks.
in theory, great idea.
in practice, nightmare.
can’t eat, no carry-on, what if u want to sit up for awhile?
@Kaien:
Ya know, I’m looking at the pictures, and I don’t see why there can’t be a wall on one side of those beds. Either way, yeah, I would totally fly like this. I can’t wait until I can.
Kind of reminds me of the movie The Fifth Element.
Sweet! Trucker beds!
That’s when the whores come.
Flying to the Philippines would`ve been so much easier like this…
How would takeoff and landing work?
Hell ya.
“What if you want to sit up for a while?”
Too bad. How is that any worse than “What if you want to lay down for a while” in the current system? I’d rather be forced to lay down for 8 hours than sit up in a cramped chair for the same amount of time.
“Where does the carry-on baggage go?”
Nowhere. They could put a small cubbie hole or netting above your feet to hold your book, MP3 player, snacks, or other small items. What else do you need to carry on anyway?
I would choose a plane like this on flights as short as 3 hours, understanding the ‘limitations’ addressed above.
Flat cots that don’t recline. Tiny pillows not washed between flights. No barriers between anyone and anyone else. Have to climb a ladder if you’re in the top bunk and you have to pee. Reminds me of a morgue.
The suspended animation tubes in spaceships in old science fiction movies looked a damn sight more comfortable than this.
“Passengers will have access to snacks and water”
Like a little drip tube and food pellets? Where’s the exercise wheel? Is fresh bedding provided and changed weekly?
@Murph1908: You seriously think I am not going to have a carry-on bag? What universe do you come from? Do airlines never lose luggage there? Do travelers never use laptops there? Geesh.
I’d love to have this on long haul flights.
I just flew back from Russia and – while unsuccessfully trying to sleep in my coach seat – wondered why there couldn’t be some bed configuration of beds that would more efficiently and comfortably accomodate customers.
It looks like Lufthansa is one step ahead already.
For long flights this would be awesome. I know when I went to australia I would have love this instead of 18 hours cramped in a middle seat. I just wonder how they are going to do movies, etc? If you’re awake for long periods of time, this might feel even more cramped than current economy seats. 2 high bunk beds would allow room to sit up. 3 high wont.
Yeah. I really look forward to having the ass of my fellow passenger hovering inches above my face, to having their stinky feet dangling by my nose and watching the drip-drip-drip from their incontinent kids above me.
Just noticed everyone on the plane is dressed the same. Add some Nike shoes or some poison Kool-aid, and you have yourself a stereotypical cult suicide.
This is a well worn and tested idea used in European trains, drawing on the idea of a couchette, or a very cheap sleeper compartment, usually 6 bunks to a room. It might be disconcerting given American sensibilities about privacy, but traveling in Europe, these were extremely cheap given the exponential improvement yielded in terms of comfort.
@ Keegan
Lost luggage doesn’t happen often enough to force me to bring on a carry-on. I fly more than 12 times a year, and it happened to me once about 10 years ago.
Your laptop can fit in my proposed cubbie above your feet.
“And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We’re now on full automatic, in the hands of the computers. I have tucked my crew in for the long sleep and I’ll be joining them soon.”
And everyone knows how that works out…
I think it’s a good concept. Will top bunk become the new window seat?
This would sure be great during those eight-hour waits on the tarmac .
I imagine it wouldn’t be like this for the whole flight. I recently traveled on the Amtrak Auto Train in a roomette and the seats are seats during the day which share a (too-small) table in the center. At night, they are converted to a bed and a top bunk folds down.
I’d fly on Lufthansa if they do this — especially if I could get Internet access on the flight, too.
@RoboSheep: At least, in theory, your plane won’t wind up going through some sort of time travel portal. Theoretically. But I’d stay away from Bermuda…
Only if noise is minimized and the only dual-occupancy allowed is with a child or pet. But then, even if I couldn’t sleep due to light/lack of doors/insufficient comfort, I’d be quite happy to lie there and read.
If they set it up like any of the capsule hotels in Japan, I’m game.
According to my girlfriend, I both snore and fart in my sleep.
So yeah, I’m all for this.
The worst part about flying from the US to Europe is how you leave in the evening but arrive at about 7 or 8 am. With the excitement and the time change, it’s hard to get to sleep in those upright sardine chairs.
I would love to have a chance to lie flat- it seems comparable to a couchette in a European night train. I’d take this option to cross the atlantic anytime.
I was flew as a (mock) patient on a C-130 flying a MedEvac mission. For this flight the plane had 2 columns of cots, each with 5 rows, stacked 5 high. I was on one of those cots when we took off on our first leg, and let me tell you, as someone who has flown on all kinds of planes and 5 legs on a MedEvac helicopter, that takeoff was my scariest in-flight experience, and the only time I came close to vomiting during flight.
It is very unsettling to be strapped to a cot with no view of a window (C-130′s have something like 10 windows total in the cabin) during take off, not knowing if the plane is actually moving or not.
Another time I was a mock MedEvac patient (also on a C-130). The loadmasters put me in a cot underneath a 250+ pounds girl. Her cot dipped to the point where maybe I had 6 inches between my body and hers. We didn’t fly in this particular exercise, but the scenario would have involved approximately 20 hours of flight time. My hats go off to the troops who have to endure a trip from Iraq like that, some while grievously injured. Personally, I would never be a passenger on any airline that forced me to lie in a cot.
//Civil Air Patrol FTW
Anyone else read this and only hear “Now we can pack even more of you into the same plane, and we don’t have to feed you on that 13 hour flight anymore, either!”?
I concur with other points too. What if I want to sit up? What if I want to use my laptop or play a handheld game (with headphones, of course)? Not everything in the world is comfortable, or possible, to do lying on your side or back…
I’m waiting for the Boeing Dreamliner!
and i repeat…
in theory, great idea.
in practice, nightmare.
the only way this could really work would be to provide more space and privacy but this would complete undo the reason for wanting to stack customers instead of giving full reclining seats.
just make long international or cross country flights with a optional seating section that has full reclining seats. Not first class, but something of an enhanced coach or business class. This would cost a little more and the demand would be high, but still some people are always looking to save a buck and they can continue to use regular seats with limited reclining ability.
How effective will this be with a cabinful of sugar-dosed toddlers and kids all around you?
Come on guys, read everything before commenting. The seats recline flat after take-off (look in the pciture). You won’t be lying flat for take-off or landing, and will probably be able to sit up during the flight when you want.
In beds people are likely to take their shoes off– unpleasant. And people can’t control their farts when they sleep.
Fat people will not be able to fit in the beds nor purchase two “seats” to accomodate their bulk.
major personal injury liability issue from people falling off ladders and top beds.
I think one of the best solutions is an arrangement where passengers are standing, or have a perch to lean on.
All these comments and no one has mentioned the safety aspect?
How the heck are you going to evacuate the plane in an emergency when the people are stacked 3 high and horizontal. Getting everyone up and out of those cots will take considerably longer than seats.
That photo reminds me of the photos of steerage class in the old oceanliners.
No thanks.
upsides: more comfortable sleeping
downsides: old men farting in your face, inability to escape a burning wreck, etc.
This would be GREAT!! I love it.
I would totally pay extra for this. The last time we went to Europe, not even Tylenol PM could get me to sleep, leaving me loopy and jet-lagged. Good thing the Irish are so kind.
If only the people on this site spent as much time complaining about bad customer service to CEOs as they do complaining to each other about children.
@rbb: let’s be realistic: most plane evacuations are in body bags. so not much of an issue!
This is a great idea for long-distance flights. Safety might be an issue, but the other issues raised here (stinky feet, farting, kids) are the same issues you’d run into on any flight; and I’d rather deal with them comfortably lying down. I also have long legs, and I would LOVE to be able to stretch them out on a long flight.
In addition, those bunks look more vertically roomy than the ones I had to deal with when I used to go sailing as a teenager. You might not be able to sit up all the way, but it would certainly afford you a larger range of positions than the current sardine-seats.
@Sidecutter: Yes.
@AnitraSmith: Agreed, though, and let’s add “mouth breathers with halitosis” and “people who kick seats” to that list.
I wish that the airlines’ intentions were truly to provide long-haul passengers with more comfort, but I fear it will be sold to us that way, yet executed in the most uncomfortable, least appealing, most profitable manner possible.
The best solution would be to fly less, but that would involve getting a different (less well-paying) job and convincing all family members to move within driving distance.
It looks like an old style Pullman car, the ones you see in pre-war movies.
WT?
I dont fly but if i did i would prefer to be sitting up if the jet had to crash land. Those beds look like theres not much room to lay on. That would have to be clostrophobes nightmare.
I would just like to point out that farting, drooling, snoring, all other manner of horrible beasts are still a problem, even now, on planes, because people still sleep, they just do it sitting up.
I am all for it, as long as the seat goes up at my will, and not the will of the airline. I don’t want to have an imposed bedtime.