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Airline to launch new bunk beds in economy on long-haul flights next year

FLAG carrier Air New Zealand is set to launch its long-awaited economy bunk beds next year – six years after it first came up with the idea.

Getting to sleep on planes is never easy, particularly in economy cabins, where legroom and comfy chairs are hard to come by.

Woman sleeping under a blanket in an airline bunk bed.
Air New Zealand
Flag carrier Air New Zealand is set to launch its long-awaited economy-class bunk beds next year[/caption]
Airline bunk beds with purple lighting.
Air New Zealand
Dubbed Skynest, it’s set to debut on the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners from early next year[/caption]

But from next year Air New Zealand hopes to introduce the world’s first lie-flat sleep pods for economy class passengers.

Dubbed Skynest, it’s set to debut on the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners from early next year.

The pods look like the bunk beds used by flight attendants on long-haul flights or a bed in a capsule hotel.

Each Skynest features six beds, with three beds stacked vertically on either side of a designated area.

A ladder sits in the middle of each stack, giving passengers easy access to the upper bunks.

Passengers will get a four hour slot in which to stretch out, have a snooze and forget about the person in front reclining their seat.

A pillow, a sheet and a blanket, all of which are changed between passengers, are included in each bed.

Each bed will come with its own eye mask and ear plugs, making it easier for those using the service to drift off.

The beds will each have a separate reading light, USB outlet and a curtain for added privacy.

Each Skynest bed will be available to book in four-hour sessions during the flight and is limited to one per passenger.

Passengers travelling in economy and premium economy will be able to book the Skynest.

However, it won’t be available for passengers travelling in business class.

Air New Zealand initially hoped to introduce Skynest in September 2024 but this launch was delayed.

According to AFAR, the retrofit is now underway, with the airline’s bunk beds slated to appear on the 18-hour New York to Auckland flights from next year.

Leanne Geraghty, chief customer and sales officer at Air New Zealand, previously told said: “We know that most people undergo a 90-minute REM (rapid eye movement) cycle.

“So, the four hour block allows them to have two of those REM cycles with time to wind down and then wake back up.

“For those customers that are deep in slumber, the crew will gently wake them as they do every day on our flights when we’re coming in to land after a long-haul flight.”

Air New Zealand say they are the first airline to offer such a service to economy passengers, meaning that unless you’re flying with them, you’re likely to be stuck in your normal uncomfortable seat

Last week, deputy travel editor Kara Godfrey got to glimpse the new business class pods on Cathay Pacific.

Meanwhile, an airline has launched new plane seats you can recline without ever annoying other passengers.

Here's what it's like to fly in Emirates business class...

The Sun’s Assistant Travel Editor Sophie Swietochowski recently tried out Emirates business class: here’s her thoughts.

The lavish experience begins before you even step foot in the airport, thanks to the free “chauffeur” service (technically just a posh Addison Lee taxi) provided to all business class customers.

I was out of the cab, checked-in and through airport security, making my way to the swish departure lounge in a record-breaking 12 minutes.

I made a beeline for Emirates departures lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 with showers, a buffet-style restaurant with proper tables, plenty of drinks including champagne, coffee and a cocktail station and free mags and newspapers to devour from one of the many padded arm chairs.

Most people know that the main benefit of flying upper, is not just the space but the ability to keep reclining your seat until it eventually becomes a flat bed, enabling you to get some proper kip on a long-haul flight.

The plush mini pillow, eye mask, blanket and thick “mattress” (essentially a padded topper for your seat), help too.

If you’re not kept busy enough by the endless movies, TV shows and games on the ICE entertainment system at your seat, head to the airplane bar (yes, really), hosted by an air steward that shook up a better Bloody Mary cocktail than many I’ve sampled in many bars back home.

We’ve also revealed Turkish Airlines’ new business class seats – who was named the best European airline by Skytrax.

And Delta has new economy seats as well.

Airline bunk beds with purple lighting.
Air New Zealand
The airline’s bunk beds slated to appear on the 18-hour New York to Auckland flights from next year[/caption]

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Jilted bride ‘laced ex’s pizza with lead before strangling him and trying to hide his body’ after he cancelled wedding

A JILTED bride allegedly laced her ex’s pizza with lead before strangling him and attempting to hide his body.

Bianca Larissa Vieira Caldeira, 22, has been charged with the murder of her boyfriend of six years after she was left at the alter when he cancelled their wedding.

Woman with curly hair wearing a white mesh top.
Newsflash
Bianca Larissa Vieira Caldeira, 22, has been charged with the murder of her boyfriend[/caption]
Photo of Junio Pereira Barbosa.
Newsflash
Junio Pereira Barbosa , 27, died after being poisoned with pizza[/caption]
Woman crying while being comforted by another woman, with onlookers in the background.  Text overlay reads "Woman kills boyfriend who didn't want to marry."
noticias.r7
Family and friends looking devastated over Junio’s death[/caption]

Junio Pereira Barbosa, 27, was killed in Minas Gerais, Brazil, after his pizza was poisoned before being strangled in late December last year – which his ex confessed to doing.

The pair had been in a relationship for years, but the young carer pressured Junio to get married, reports claim.

Elderly caregiver Vieira Caldeira paid for the fees and scheduled the wedding at the registry office.

She even bought the rings and her wedding dress – desperate to get the ceremony underway.

But 10 days before the wedding, the couple had an argument and Junio called it off.

They remained together however, and Vieira Caldeira had still hoped that he would show up to the ceremony – but he didn’t.

She has been charged with murder, as well as concealing a corpse, procedural fraud and arson after burning his car.

Cops said that Vieira Caldeira fed him pizza which resulted in him being gravely ill before strangling him the next day.

After Vieira Caldeira allegedly fed Junio poisonous pizza and strangled him the next day, she wrapped his body in a tarp and blanket and went to work in Junio’s car.

After returning from work, she went with her cousin to a shopping centre before stopping in a different neighbourhood where she abandoned the car and hid the keys.

She then allegedly tried to bury the body – but was unable to do so, before then setting the car on fire, cops said.

Marcus Rios, a detective investigating the case, told local media: “The motivation was really her dissatisfaction at not having been able to marry the victim.

“She felt rejected and took his life.”

He added that the ex had oppressed Junio and verbally abused him.

The detective also said that the accused had an affair and asked her lover where she could buy lead, claiming that she was going to kill rats on her grandmother’s farm.

The investigation determined that the unknown man didn’t play a part in Junio’s death.

The local authorities concluded their investigation last week and indicted the suspect.

Brick wall with a car parked in front of a gate.
noticias.r7
The scene of the crime in Minas Gerais, Brazil[/caption]
Man giving interview about girlfriend poisoning boyfriend.
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Investigator Marcus Rios said that the ex had ‘felt rejected’ and therefore took his life[/caption]

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Soldier feared ‘possessive’ boss had ‘hacked her phone’ before she was found dead

Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, complained that Ryan Mason was becoming ‘obsessive’ and ‘creepy’

A teenage soldier believed to have taken her own life felt ‘trapped’ by the ‘possessive’ and ‘creepy’ behaviour of her boss, an inquest has heard.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire ten days before Christmas in 2021.

An Army report previously found she suffered an ‘intense period of unwelcome behaviour’ from Bombadier Ryan Mason and sait it was ‘almost certain this was a causal factor’ in Jaysley’s death.

On the first day of the inquest into her death, her mum, Leighann McCready, said her daughter ‘did not feel safe’ and that Mr Mason had ‘hacked’ her phone.

She said Jaysley felt Mr Mason was ‘a bit obsessive’, claiming that she received 3,600 messages from him over a period of one month shortly before her death.

Ms Mcready said her daughter gave him emotional support for what she believed were mental health issues.

The inquest was shown numerous WhatsApp messages exchanged by the pair over the three months leading up to Jaysley’s death.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck , 19, died at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 A TEENAGE soldier took her own life after her male commander subjected her to relentless sexual harassment, an Army investigation has found. The official investigation into the death of Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, concluded that the impact of the harassment was ?almost certainly? a factor in her death
Jaysley died at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021

In one message, Mr Mason told her: ‘Love you Jayse. As a friend.

In another, he wrote: ‘I’m renaming you in my phone as the magician.’

A couple of weeks later he wrote: ‘You’re amazing Jayse, I appreciate you so much, I love everything about you, even your flaws.

‘I will always be there along for the ride with you, I have said it before but you’re stuck with me forever now. I love you x As a friend, I love you.’

Two weeks after that, the 19-year-old wrote: ‘This whole falling in love with me, its becoming a bit too much, I have just come out of a relationship and I’m just not wanting to be involved in anything like this.

‘It’s weighing me down a little bit, I’ll be totally honest with you.

A HEARTBROKEN family have paid tribute to a 19-year-old girl found dead on an army base. Jaysley-Louise Beck, who was training to become a soldier, was discovered at the base in Larkhill, Wilts, on December 15.
Gunner Beck complained about her boss in the months before she died (Picture: Facebook)

‘Totally honest here, I just don’t want to hear how you feel about me.’

Jaysley eventually began to express concerns towards Mr Mason.

She wrote to him: ‘When you said you seen me leav camp I was a bit taken back like are you watching me when you say things like “You’re there” it’s just weird and the whole thing is just bizarre.”

In a message sent by Gunner Beck to Mr Mason on December 4, she said: ‘It’s snapping me, I have replied to you and in the space of a couple of minutes you sent three texts and tried to phone me. Can you understand why I think it’s a bit too much?’

Ms McCready said her daughter ‘made us aware that he is becoming a creep’ and was ‘freaking her out’.

She told the inquest: ‘There was a time when she was on the phone to me and said “Mum I think he’s hacked my phone” because he knows exactly where I am standing and he’s meant to be away.’

She said Jaysley phoned her when she was staying in a hotel in Newbury on a work trip eight days before her death and was ‘upset and crying’.

The teenager was ‘afraid something would happen, she thought he had tracked her phone and was listening to her conversation’, Ms McCready added.

The inquest was shown a draft message that Gunner Beck written for Mr Mason.

It said: ‘I honestly feel trapped in this whole situation, I have tried to act as normal as possible because we are working together but nothing normal about this situation.

‘It’s possessive and psychotic, you have to understand it’s not normal behaviour.

‘I am struggling to deal with all of this, it’s taking a huge toll on my own mental health for many personal reasons. I need time out.’

Ms McCready said Jaysley had also been suffering emotionally from the recent end of a relationship and the suicide of her uncle in August 2020.

The hearing was also told the teenager had complained reported a sergeant who put his hand ‘between her legs’ during a team-building trip in Hampshire four months before her death.

Ms McCready said Jaysley was too scared to go back to her room that night and slept in her car.

Jaysley was said to have been angered by an apology letter from the sergeant – who received a minor sanction – which ended by saying his ‘door was open’ for her.

The inquest continues.

Need support?

For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Their HOPELINE247 is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. You can call 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email: [email protected].

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