Imagine being seated in the economy class cabin aboard an airplane for a transatlantic flight and paying only $260.00 for the privilege — and the offer is not from an ultra-low-cost carrier — for what some people call the “poor man’s premium class” experience.
An Entire Row of Seats For $260 On a Transatlantic Flight? Yes — But…
Well, you no longer have to imagine that scenario, as the Sleeper’s Row has been introduced in the economy class cabin by Lufthansa — and the cost is indeed $260.00 in United States dollars — but some significant restrictions are attached with this offer, as Sleeper’s Row:
- Is only being offered during a trial period between Wednesday, November 18, 2020 and sometime during mid-December of 2020 on flights between Frankfurt and São Paulo — specifically, Lufthansa flight 506 and Lufthansa flight 507 — in order to “offer innovative solutions to increase your comfort”
- Must be purchased at the airport — either during checking in for the flight or when at the boarding gate — by contacting a member of the ground staff of Lufthansa and paying for the three or four adjacent seats with your credit card
- Is limited per flight and will be occupied by the sequence of passengers which show interest to our ground staff — in other words, “first come, first serve”
What is Included With Sleeper’s Row For $260.00?
Included with Sleeper’s Row are the following benefits:
- Three or four adjacent seats in a row
- Lufthansa Business Class kit, which contains:
- Pillows
- Blanket
- Topper
- Priority boarding with Business Class passengers
Summary
I suppose this offer is only possible during the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated travel in general worldwide and has left many seats empty during what remaining flights are in operation.
The terms and conditions of this offer do not specify whether the $260.00 is for a round trip flight or one way only; so I assume that that price is for one way only — which is still a rather good deal.
Lufthansa is not the first airline to offer lie-flat comfort in the economy class cabin, as on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, Air New Zealand formally introduced the Economy Skynest, which provides six full length lie-flat sleep pods in the economy class cabin aboard its airplanes; and in its economy class cabin aboard its Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” aircraft, the airline offers the Skycouch, which can be configured several different ways.
All photographs ©2015 and ©2017 by Brian Cohen.