Sleep dreams

Ultra long-haul flying is becoming more common. But with nonstop flights of 17 hours or more, travelling in economy is a severe test of endurance for passengers. An Australian engineer believes he has found the answer to increased comfort in the back-end of commercial jets.

The numbers are astounding. According to Boeing, some 42,730 jets will be delivered worth some $6.3 trillion through to 2037. Airbus thinks 37,400 jets worth $5.8 trillion. But even more amazing is the number of seats – First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy – that will be required to fill these new commercial jets.

As Gordon Croudace, a retired,Sydney-based environmental engineer and head of the SleeperTech company, puts it: “Multiply that by X number of seats per aircraft and it’s a mind-numbing number.”