In recent years, many airlines worldwide have offered new experiences to economy class passengers. On long-haul flights, three to four economy seats can be converted into lie-flat beds. This option is cheaper than purchasing business or first class tickets.

"Secret sleeper bed" is the term used by Lufthansa Airlines (Germany), one of the first airlines to introduce this service in 2021 under the name Sleeper's Row. It provides an entire row of seats where passengers can lie down without paying for an upgrade. It is called "secret" because passengers cannot know if this type of seat is available for purchase, nor can they know its specific location in the cabin beforehand.

Economy seats transformed into a bed. *Illustration*

Several airlines later adopted this service. In 2025, Air New Zealand began selling SkyCouch, a similar economy class lie-flat seat option. Passengers can add two adjacent seats to transform a row of three into a comfortable flat surface. This is an additional paid service beyond the ticket price. SkyCouch is available in specific areas of the economy cabin on Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Azul Brazilian Airlines offers SkyCouch/Sky Sofa, inspired by Air New Zealand. This allows passengers to purchase extra seats to create private sleeping space, typically in the middle rows of four seats. Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) also provides COUCHii, which includes a mattress, blanket, pillow, and seatbelt, available on A380 aircraft flying between Tokyo and Honolulu. Air Astana, Kazakhstan's national airline, features Economy Sleeper on some international routes.

Vietnam Airlines will also offer this service starting in 2025, named Sky Sofa, on routes between Ho Chi Minh City - San Francisco and Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City - London/Paris/Frankfurt/Melbourne/Sydney.

However, this service comes with several conditions, varying by airline, but sharing some common characteristics:

:- Applicable only on long-haul flights, typically 10 hours or longer.- The flight must have sufficient empty seats.- Passengers cannot book in advance through any channel; sales are only available at check-in or when preparing to board.- Passengers who register first are served first.- Ticket prices are not fixed, varying by route and ticket class, typically 30% to 50% of business class fares. For example, Vietnam Airlines' website indicates tickets starting from 400 USD per row per passenger (this is for the additional seats beyond the initial ticket).- Once a bed is purchased, passengers cannot choose their location; they must adhere to the airline staff's seating arrangements, depending on the flight situation.- Some airlines do not apply this service to adults traveling with young children, as young children require seating with oxygen masks.- Passengers will be provided with a thin mattress, blanket, and pillow of a quality comparable to business class.

Air New Zealand's lie-flat seat. *Photo: BI*

On various forums, passengers have shared their experiences with this service. One user on Reddit commented that "many airlines cannot sell business class tickets, but they can sell many Sleeper's Beds, which is a suitable business strategy." Lan Nguyen, a passenger who frequently travels between the US and Vietnam, described it as a "suitable experience." She once purchased additional seats for about 12 to 15 million VND one-way, nearly equivalent to another economy class ticket, whereas a business class ticket costs approximately 80 to 90 million VND.

However, on the Quora forum, a passenger who experienced Air New Zealand's Skycouch suggested that it is still better to purchase a premium economy ticket (a class between economy and business) because the lie-flat seats in economy class remain "cramped and suffocating, completely not worth it."

By Tam Anh