When Lufthansa tested what is known as the Sleeper’s Row — which is an entire row of seats in the economy class cabin that a passenger can purchase — during a trial run between Wednesday, November 18, 2020 and the end of last year, the offer received so much positive feedback from passengers and was in such high demand that as of today, Monday, August 2, 2021, it is now permanently offered on select transatlantic flights whose duration is a minimum of eleven hours.
You Can Now Book an Entire Row of Seats For a Surcharge on Select Transatlantic Flights With Lufthansa
Included with Sleeper’s Row are the following benefits with which passengers can fully relax:
- Three or four adjacent seats in a row for the entire duration of the flight
- Lufthansa Business Class kit, which contains:
- Comfortable pillows
- Blanket
- Mattress topper of Business Class quality
- A safety during the flight which is ensured by a special seat belt, which remains fastened even when the passenger is lying down — and it includes separate safety instructions
- Priority boarding
Sleeper’s Row is now available on long-haul flights on select routes to the Far East, the west coast of the United States, Central America, South America, or southern Africa…
…but unlike the total of $260.00 in United States dollars as was offered during the trial period last year, the surcharge — in addition to the regular economy class fare — is between 159 euros per flight segment and 229 euros per flight segment. A maximum of three Sleeper’s Rows are offered per flight — meaning that when three Sleeper’s Rows are purchased aboard the airplane, they are sold out on that flight — and booking reservations in advance for a Sleeper’s Row is not possible, as it must be booked either when checking in for the flight or at the gate prior to travel.
“The Sleeper’s Row is a further step towards more product diversity in Economy Class to meet passengers’ wishes for more comfort and individuality”, according to this official press release from Lufthansa. “By equipping the new long-haul aircraft, Lufthansa is providing its passengers additional services to make flying even more pleasant.. The offer received much positive feedback from passengers and was in high demand. The Sleeper’s Row is a further step towards more product diversity in Economy Class to meet passengers’ wishes for more comfort and individuality. By equipping the new long-haul aircraft, Lufthansa is providing its passengers additional services to make flying even more pleasant.”
Final Boarding Call
Lufthansa was 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.
Everyone seems to benefit from this option: the airline can sell more seats with little additional costs incurred; and the passenger gets more of a choice of flying aboard an airplane comfortably without having to pay seemingly usurious prices for a premium class experience solely for comfort…
…but one potential disadvantage is that up to nine fewer seats would be available for purchase to other customers.
Perhaps more airlines should offer passengers who purchase economy class fares this option?
All photographs ©2015 and ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
