Turndown service is available for lie-flat seats in Business Class.
After dinner, the flight attendants stopped by each seat to convert it into a bed.
Monica Humphreys/The Insider
Our flight is red eyed. We departed from Los Angeles in the evening and were scheduled to land in Oakland in the early morning.
After dinner, passengers slowly retreated to the bathroom to freshen up before bed. I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. By the time I was done, a flight attendant had turned my seat into a bed.
One of the key perks of business class on Air New Zealand’s long-haul flights is the fact that the seat converts into a lie-flat bed.
During turndown service, flight attendants press a few buttons to turn the upright seats into horizontal beds. Then, they add mattresses, blankets and pillows. Finally, just to be on the safe side, they buckled their seatbelts and checked with each passenger to see if they needed a last drink, snack or item before dimming the cabin lights.
I think the passenger’s transition from dinner to bed is effortless. When I grab the blindfold, I know the odds are high that I’m falling asleep. When I’m flying economy class, I rarely have that kind of confidence.
Sure enough, I got about five hours of sleep in my comfy bed. I wake up to the smell of hot coffee and breakfast.
Before eating, I retreated to the bathroom. When I came out, my bed became a seat again. It felt like magic, although I knew it was the result of hardworking flight attendants.