Lufthansa will allow economy passengers to pay for a row of seats to lie across as if it were a bed 

Who needs business class? Lufthansa will allow economy passengers to pay for a row of seats to lie across as if it were a bed

  • The German airline announced a new upgrade for economy class passengers
  • Travellers can pay £195.40 on top of their ticket price for a row of 3 to 4 seats
  • They will be able to lie across the row to sleep and will get a pillow and blanket 
  • Sleeper’s Row passengers will also have access to Lufthansa’s priority boarding
  • The new feature comes as airlines are planning how to make customers feel safe enough to fly during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic 

Lufthansa has announced a new upgrade which would allow customers to purchase a row of seats to lie across for $260 (£195.40) on top of the price of their original ticket. 

The German airline is offering a Sleeper’s Row on its Frankfurt to São Paulo flights on a trial basis from November 18 until mid-December. 

It comes as airlines plan to make travellers feel safe enough to fly again following positive news of coronavirus vaccine developments in the USA and UK.

Passengers in economy can purchase an upgrade at the airport for a row of three to four seats to stretch out on, similar to the lie-flat beds offered in business class. 

Those who purchase the Sleeper’s Row upgrade will be able to lie across a row of three or four seats and will be provided with a pillow, blanket and seat topper for extra comfort 

Those in the Sleeper’s Row will be provided with a blanket, pillow and seat topper for added comfort and will also be given access to priority boarding. 

Lufthansa’s announcement also mentioned the additional personal space the seating option would provide, which could be a lure to travellers seeking to maintain social distancing.  

The Sleeper’s Row is similar to Air New Zealand’s Economy Skycoach, which debuted in 2011, CNN reported. 

While the Lufthansa product works within the existing seat configurations, elsewhere airlines and plane manufacturers are working to develop new seating styles.

In 2019, Airbus unveiled its lightweight Settee Corner, which creates a sofa-style seat that would take up less space than the average Business Class seat.  

This year, Air New Zealand filed a patent application for what it called Economy Skynest – six lie-flat pods for sleeping that can be installed into an economy cabin, CNN reported.

Lufthansa’s seating announcement came as Delta Air Lines unveiled a ‘quarantine free’ travel system from Atlanta to Rome in partnership with Alitalia, an Italian airline and now Lufthansa has announced a new ticket type for economy passengers.   

Lufthansa's announcement comes as airlines plan to make travellers feel safe enough to fly again following positive news of coronavirus vaccine developments in the USA and UK. Pictured: A member of the Lufthansa ground crew at Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport in Munich [File photo]

Lufthansa’s announcement comes as airlines plan to make travellers feel safe enough to fly again following positive news of coronavirus vaccine developments in the USA and UK. Pictured: A member of the Lufthansa ground crew at Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport in Munich [File photo]

Delta claims that they system it has established leaves a ‘one in a million’ chance of being infected with coronavirus on a flight. 

The system will require passengers to present a negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that was taken 72 hours before departure from Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

They will then have a rapid test at the airport in Atlanta before boarding, and another in Aeroporti di Roma in Rome on arrival. 

Yet another rapid test will be required before boarding on the return from Rome and passengers will be required to provide their details to the Centers for Disease Control  

The system will only apply to those US travelers who are legally allowed to travel to Italy for work, health and education reasons, and to Italian and EU passengers.