When flying economy, there are few things better than the boarding door closing and realizing you have a row entirely to yourself.
Soon, economy fliers on United Airlines can guarantee that — with the purchase of a whole “couch” to themselves in what the carrier is calling the “Relax Row.” These rows, designed using technology pioneered by Air New Zealand more than a decade ago, feature three economy seats with footrests that can be raised and locked to create a quasi-bed.
“We definitely think the world’s changing and people are looking for these opportunities,” Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer at United, said in an interview last month.
He added: “We often spend so much time focused on the front of the airplane, this was an opportunity to deploy something in the main cabin at scale really quickly.”
United will begin selling the Relax Row for an added fee on an economy ticket before the end of the year, with flights beginning in early 2027. The seats will be available exclusively on United’s twin-aisle Boeing 787 and some Boeing 777 planes. United expects to have nine to 12 designated Relax Rows per flight.
The airline will give travelers — up to three people — who book the Relax Row two full-size pillows, blankets and a mattress cover after takeoff. And, for families, United will provide a stuffed animal for young fliers in addition to the travel play kit standard on most flights.
The Relax Row feels like an anomaly as airlines keep finding new ways to make flying economy less enjoyable. Seats are getting thinner and closer together. No-window window seats. Fees for families that actually want to sit together. And that’s not considering the headache of actually getting through security to one’s flight.
But are these sky couch contraptions worth the price?
‘Like the Taj Mahal’
Summer Hull, an editorial director at the Points Guy, has flown on Air New Zealand’s version of the Relax Row, the Skycouch, and the All Nippon Airways (ANA) version, the COUCHii, with her two young children and thinks the product is worth it.
“It’s the perfect bridge,” she said. “I don’t need all the fluff of business class; I just need the kids and I to sleep on a 14-hour flight.”
Air New Zealand provided them with two pillows, blankets and a seat belt extender so they could stay buckled while sleeping, she said.
For Hull’s children, who were 7 and 13 when they flew on the Skycouch, she said the couch was “like the Taj Mahal” compared with a standard economy seat.
Adults may find the economy couches a little cramped. Kayla Baldwin, an American physical therapist and travel agent who lives in Germany, said she and her husband found the space limited when they flew on the Skycouch from Honolulu to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2020.
“Us laying side by side, spooning, there was definitely not enough room,” she said. Her 6-foot-tall husband ended up sitting upright in the aisle seat while she curled up on a mini-couch made out of the middle and window seat.
What’s the cost?
Air New Zealand advertises the Skycouch as 61 inches long (5 feet and 1 inch) and 29 inches wide. A standard twin bed is 75 inches long and 38 inches wide. A solo adult would pay $1,248 for a Skycouch in addition to a $1,191 one-way economy fare for the 14-hour flight from Houston to Auckland, according to Air New Zealand’s website, for a Wednesday later this month. The Skycouch for an adult and a child together is $624, plus the cost of tickets.
Hull paid $865 one-way in addition to a $536 ticket for a Skycouch for herself on the Houston-Auckland flight in 2023, she said. The Skycouch for her two kids to share was $462, plus the $956 for their tickets.
Sarah Simpkins, a spokesperson for Air New Zealand, said Skycouch pricing is “flexible and varies depending on demand.” The airline sells it as an extra fee for travelers when booking a flight.
Air New Zealand sells the Skycouch as an entire row. When a traveler or group books one, the airline automatically blocks the empty seats in the row, whether that is two seats for a solo traveler or one for a parent and child. Two adults and one child can book a Skycouch, but the space would be tight. The airline can sell the Skycouch as regular seats if it does not sell the entire couch.
ANA prices its COUCHii based on the number of travelers and the season. A solo passenger booking it during high season will pay up to $2,580 for the economy couch, according to the airline’s website, whereas four passengers flying during low season will pay only an extra $130.
Still, the Skycouch on that Houston-Auckland flight is less than a $9,305-per-person ticket in business class and does not come with perks such as lounge access, priority boarding or an upgraded meal.
The Japanese airline, unlike Air New Zealand and United, offers the COUCHii in blocks of either three seats by the window or four seats in the middle of the plane. The beds are available only on ANA’s Airbus A380s.
United has yet to set a price for the Relax Row, but Nocella said the extra charge will change based on the route and demand.
“If you’re a family of three and you’d like to deploy this, the cost will be lower than if you’re a single person and you’d like to sit in the seats,” he said.
Is a ‘sky couch’ worth it?
Baldwin thinks the couch was worth the price, even if her husband and she were a little cramped.
“It was still a great investment, in my opinion, just to have the middle seat open and have that space,” she said, adding that it is ideal for families traveling with young children.
United has not said where it will fly the Relax Row, but the carrier plans to offer Relax Rows on more than 200 planes by 2030, meaning it will be available on just about every intercontinental route the carrier flies.
Simpkins said the Skycouch is on all of its 787s and many of its 777s that fly long-haul routes from New Zealand to Asia and North America.
Brent Colmer, a content creator from outside Toronto who flew in the Skycouch with his 6-foot partner from San Francisco to Auckland and then back to Vancouver, also thinks the couch was worth the additional cost.
“I honestly really enjoyed it, and if I ever go back, I’d do it again,” he said, adding that he liked the Skycouch so much he recently persuaded his in-laws to book it on an upcoming trip.
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