British Airways has unveiled its latest lounge enhancement, the new ’Forty Winks’ nap lounge, featuring power nap sleep pods.
The new pods are currently available in BA’s First Lounge at Heathrow.
The airline will later add these sleep pods to its Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5 and New York’s JFK Terminal 7, when global travel restrictions ease and the lounges open.
Introduced in partnership with Restworks, the ‘Forty Winks’ lounge allows customers in need of some pre-flight rest the chance to power nap in a dedicated EnergyPod.
The EnergyPod claims to be the world’s first chair designed exclusively for power napping thanks to combination of gravity neutral positioning and privacy visor.
The Heathrow First Class ‘Forty Winks’ lounge is complimentary and operates on a self-service basis, so customers do not need to pre-book.
There are seven pods available and customers can use the ‘Your Menu’ lounge app to check if a pod is available in real time. This information will also be available on a screen outside the Forty Winks entrance.
Dettol hand sanitiser stations will be positioned in the nap lounges and Dettol antibacterial wipes will be used to keep the pod surfaces clean after each use.
The EnergyPod reclines to elevate the feet and promote relaxation and customers can set the timer to the desired duration or use the one-touch start button for a pre-programmed 20-minute nap.
An adjustable privacy visor can be swivelled into place to block out distractions.
Complimentary audio content for use while in the lounge and traveling can be downloaded via the Restworks Mobile app.
When open, Concorde Room customers will be able book an EnergyPod via dedicated hosts, request a time they would like to be woken and choose a hot beverage after their rest. Water and hot towels will also be provided.
Tom Stevens, BA Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “We can’t wait to welcome our customers back after a very difficult year, and 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.
“Our ’Forty Winks’ nap lounges will offer a dedicated rejuvenation space for customers as they return to the skies, all self-serviced via the ‘Your Menu’ lounge app. Beating jetlag and catching a snooze on the go has never been easier!”
At present the First lounge is open to all lounge-eligible customers, giving those who are travelling in Club World a chance to try the innovative new sleep pods.
