What 2023 aviation news is making everyone take a second look? Exciting aviation advances are on the horizon. What will we be seeing in the coming years?

Air New Zealand Skynest

Air New Zealand announced its Skynest product as a brand new type of sleeping pod or “bunk bed” for Economy passengers. This is not a concept that is going to take years to produce. Skynest is confirmed on both New York and Chicago routes from 2024 on. Skynest has already won the 2023 Crystal Cabin award for innovative cabin concept. The results were announced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo held in Hamburg, Germany at the end of May.

The Chief Customer and Sales Officer of the airline, Leanne Geraghty, spoke about Skynest at TRENZ, New Zealand’s largest International tourist business event.  She spoke about how Air New Zealand has always had a “commitment to innovation and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.” This is clearly evident in this new concept. It took 5 years and 170,000 hours of research and design work to come up with this end product.

Skynest will be featured on ultra-long haul flights. Starting flights will include Auckland to New York and Auckland to Chicago. These are super long flights. You will have the opportunity to rest and get some sleep during what would be an incredibly daunting flight in Economy. This 2023 aviation news update wouldn’t be complete without all the juicy details.

Skynest will feature a “six-pod configured sleep zone”. Sleep sessions will be offered as a paid upgrade for Economy passengers during their flight. It will be available starting September 2024.

Each individual pod will have a full size pillow as well as sheets and a blanket. There will also be earplugs and a separate reading light. Charge your device on a personal USB outlet. There will also be a ventilation outlet to keep the pod from getting too stuffy. The sleep zone lighting will be designed for rest.

The Skynest sleep zones will be located between Premium Economy and Economy cabins. Seatbelts will secure passengers while they are asleep. The bedding will be changed between each session, so a 30 minute transition time will be placed between each session.

The price has not yet been determined. At this time they’re looking at around $400 to $600 for a 4 hour session.

All images of Skynest are courtesy of Air New Zealand.

Turkish Airlines Updated Menus

If you know anything about Turkish Airlines, you know they are known for their food. So far I have not had the privilege of flying them, but I have seen so many pictures. This includes those from their website and from people I know personally who have flown them. And I have eaten Turkish food, which is amazing.

Turkish Airlines has overhauled their whole inflight dining menu for all classes. This is unique because many airlines focus mainly on the food for First class and Business class, giving Economy class the shaft.

Check out food from the new menus in the YouTube video below.

Turkish Airlines is focusing on traditional Turkish cuisine and world cuisines in its new menus. They source 80% of their menu items from local producers. They prefer using local and seasonal items. This includes “Rize tea, Afyon kaymak (cream), Erzincan honeycomb” and more.

The new Economy class menu will now feature egg dishes and homemade muesli during breakfast hours. Regional appetizers will be served during mealtime flights.

Business class menus will now include homemade pasta, dumplings and spaghetti.  There will also be options for items such as Adana kebab, lamb cooked over charcoal.  Business class will also offer many homemade mocktail drinks and detox drinks. 

Are you looking to try out either the Air New Zealand Skynest or Turkish Airlines’ new menus? Are there any other 2023 aviation news developments that you are looking forward to?