新西蘭航空研發經濟艙“臥鋪” 再也不用羨慕頭等艙了

什麼坐姿都不舒服？怎麼調整都睡不着？長途飛行時乘坐經濟艙是對乘客體力和耐力的一大考驗。新西蘭航空公司最新研發的“經濟型空中之屋”可以解決這一煩惱。如果計劃得以實行，經濟艙的乘客在長途旅行時也可以躺下美美地睡一覺了。

There are people who can sleep anywhere, any time, in any position -- including upright in an economy-class airplane seat.

有些人可以在任何時間、任何地點、以任何姿勢睡覺——包括在經濟艙座位上筆挺地坐着的時候。

And then there are the rest of us. Neck pillows just don't cut it. Reclining a few inches does nothing. We need to lie flat, which is what makes Air New Zealand's prototype sleep pods so exciting.

但還有一些人，頸枕怎麼放也不舒服，斜倚着也無濟於事。這些人需要平躺着才能睡覺，正因如此，新西蘭航空公司的“空中之屋”原型纔會如此令人興奮。

On February 26, the airline filed patent and trademark applications for the "Economy Skynest" -- the result of three years of research, development and testing based on input from more than 200 customers at a hanger in Auckland.

根據奧克蘭一家航空公司的200多名客戶的意見，經過三年的研發和測試，新西蘭航空公司於2月26日爲“經濟型空中之屋”申請了專利和商標。

According to Air New Zealand's announcement, the Skynest will consist of six full-length lie-flat sleep pods in the Economy cabin. The exact location within the aircraft is yet to be confirmed.

根據新西蘭航空公司的公告，“經濟艙空中之屋”將由6張可完全平躺的單人牀艙位組成，其位於飛機內的確切位置還有待確認。

Each pod will be about 200 centimeters long and 58 centimeters wide, and come with a pillow, sheets, blanket, ear plugs and privacy curtains. The airline is reportedly also exploring additional features such as reading lights and USB outlets.

每張單人牀長約2米，寬約0.58米，配有枕頭、牀單、毯子、耳塞和隱私拉簾。據報道，該航空公司還將增加其他配置，如閱讀燈和USB接口。

"A clear pain point for economy travelers on long-haul flights is the inability to stretch out," says Air New Zealand chief marketing and customer officer Mike Tod in a statement from the airline. "The development of the Economy Skynest is a direct response to that challenge."

新西蘭航空公司的首席營銷和客務官邁克·託德在一份聲明中說：“對於乘坐長途航班的經濟艙乘客來說，一個明顯的痛點就是無法伸展身體。‘經濟艙空中之屋’的研發是對這一挑戰的直接回應。”

pain point：痛點，痛處

So will the Skynest actually take flight?

那麼“經濟艙空中之屋”真的可以實現嗎？

There's reason to be hopeful. After all, this is the airline that's already proved its commitment to making economy class more comfortable, given so many of its flights are long-haul. It launched the "Economy Skycouch" in 2011, allowing passengers traveling together to transform their seats into a bed.

我們有理由充滿希望。畢竟，新西蘭航空公司已經兌現了讓經濟艙更舒適的承諾，因爲其衆多航班都是長途飛行的航班。該公司在2011年推出了“經濟艙空中沙發”，允許一起旅行的乘客把座位變成牀。

Staff from Air New Zealand tell cnn Travel no formal certification application is in process yet, "however we have designed the concept to meet all regulatory requirements."

新西蘭航空公司的工作人員告訴美國有線電視新聞網旅遊頻道，目前尚未有正式的認證申請在接受處理，“但是我們的這個設計理念可以滿足所有的監管要求。”

As for pricing, the airline is yet to determine the costs and is still assessing the commercial proposition and product viability.

至於定價，該航空公司尚未確定成本，仍在評估商業建議和產品可行性。

But given there are only six pods on one aircraft, they will likely be in high demand.

但考慮到一架飛機上只有6個“空中之屋”艙位，需求量可能會很大。

"We see a future flying experience where an economy-class customer on long-haul flights would be able to book the Economy Skynest in addition to their Economy seat, get some quality rest and arrive at their destination ready to go," says Nikki Goodman, general manager of Air New Zealand's Customer Experience.

新西蘭航空公司客戶體驗部總經理尼基•古德曼表示：“我們認爲，在將來，除了預訂經濟艙座位，長途航班的經濟艙乘客還可以預訂‘空中之屋’，得到充分的休息，並在抵達目的地時整裝待發。”

The airline will reportedly make a final decision on the Economy Skynest in 2021, once it has assessed the performance of its inaugural year of Auckland-New York operations, due to take flight in October this year.

“空中之屋”預計將在今年10月奧克蘭飛往紐約的航線率先使用。據報道，新西蘭航空公司將評估該航線的首年運營業績，並在2021年對是否推廣做出最後決定。

inaugural [ɪˈnɔːɡjərəl]：adj.開始的；開幕的

That flight will take an estimated 17 hours and 40 minutes one way, making it one of the longest in the world.

該航線預計單程飛行時間爲17小時40分鐘，是世界上最長的航線之一。