This story is produced in partnership with PaxEx.Aero - The Business of Passenger Experience
Lufthansa is selling a business class pillow and blanket for $260, branding it the Sleeper’s Row. The offering is now available through mid-December and is only available on flights between Frankfurt and São Paulo.
The offering also comes with adjacent seats blocked for economy class passengers, but presumably it is only on offer if there are sufficient empty seats on board to accommodate that level of passenger spacing. It also is only available at the airport, so there’s no way to know for sure in advance of travel if the extra space can be had during a flight.
The route is currently operated by the 747-8i, giving passengers the opportunity to get either a 3-seat block by the windows or a 4-seat section in the middle of the main deck.
It is a creative way to generate a bit of extra revenue and great margins on the cost of the extra pillow and blanket loaded for the flight.
But it is also not really the SkyCouch concept that Air New Zealand patented in that there is no flip-up portion of the seats to provide a wider bed area. Which also means that Lufthansa can be far more flexible in selling it on board if demand warrants. No special hardware comes with benefits to the airline, even if not as much to the traveler.
It also potentially erodes the opportunity to up-sell premium economy at the airport, though the 748i seating ratios could see that cabin filled and overflow demand in the back willing to pay a little extra for the blocked seats and blanket.
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