British Airways is installing napping pods in several of its
lounges for passengers who want to get some sleep ahead of their flight.
The airline has installed seven EnergyPods, designed by Restworks,
in a dedicated ‘Forty Winks’ nap lounge inside the First Lounge at Heathrow.
The EnergyPod is reclinable and inludes an
adjustable privacy visor that can be swivelled into place to block out distractions.
The pods are fee to use and are available on a first-come-first-served
basis. The First lounge is currently open to all
lounge-eligible passengers, including those in Club World.
Passengers can check in BA’s lounge app or on a screen outside the
Forty Winks lounge to see if a pod is available. The pods are cleaned after
each use.
When the Concorde Room reopens, passengers will be
able book a pod via a dedicated host, request a time they would like to be
woken and choose a hot drink for when they wake.
The carrier also plans to add the pods to its Concorde Room at Heathrow
Terminal 5 and New York’s JFK Terminal 7 when global travel
restrictions ease and those lounges open.
Tom Stevens, British Airways’ director of brand and
customer experience, said: “We’re always looking for new ideas to support
our customers’ health and wellbeing pre-flight. In late 2019 we carried out a
survey of over 100,000 lounge guests asking what they would like to see
featured in our lounges. Sleep pods were right at the top of their list.”