New Things Economy Class Passengers Can Enjoy in 2024

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A new year means 12 months of travel to look forward to. People who have the ability to fly first or even business class can usually expect to have more space, nicer amenities, better (granted, marginally to significantly better, depending on the airline, flight, etc.) food, free alcohol, etc.

However, some new innovations have come down the pike in the past few months, and they’re not just for those in “the front of the plane.” Economy class passengers will be able to enjoy these new benefits in 2024:

Different & Better Food/Drink

Several airlines have already introduced better food options for their economy class passengers, or soon will:

• Allegiant Air has introduced Johnny Walker Blue as an alcohol option (and it costs more than some flights on the ultra low cost airline).
• Cathay Pacific has introduced a plant-based menu to its economy customers on select flights. Curated by Hong Kong restaurant Veda, it includes both Indian and Chinese delicacies.
• China Airlines will offer economy class passengers choices from a menu curated by Le Palais, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
• Delta Air Lines is currently piloting this drink service initiative that they say is better for sustainability. It will be introduced throughout economy class later this year.
• Delta also quietly refreshed its inflight menu in late 2023, including what’s offered in economy.
• Eva Air‘s economy class PAX will have the option to purchase some of the food items the carrier’s business class passengers are offered.
• Southwest Airlines didn’t do any upgrades, but 2023 was the year that one of their flight attendants revealed the secret way to get served drinks first.
• United Airlines recently began offering economy passengers a “Grab-N-Go” snack option on select flights.

Free Wi-Fi

It’s 2024, and by this point, most people are used to having internet access 24/7 via data or Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile customers have been able to get free Wi-Fi on United and Alaska Airlines for years, and jetBlue has offered free Wi-Fi to its customers for quite some time, as well. However, since late 2022, Delta has slowly rolled out free Wi-Fi to all of its passengers, provided they were Delta SkyMiles members. The conversion isn’t complete yet (Delta says international flights won’t see free Wi-Fi until sometime in 2024).

More Comfortable Seats for Sleep

People who travel in business and first class always talk about lie flat seats. These are airline seats that can be converted, either manually or at the magic touch of a button, so they lie flat, supposedly making it easier to sleep (I’ve been on a few of them; although you may drift off to sleep, I promise you still don’t get a good night’s sleep).

Because of space concerns, economy PAX probably will never see those types of convertible lie flat seats. With multiple airlines removing reclining seats, economy passengers are lucky if they get to sit back those 3 inches. However Air New Zealand, which introduced the Skycouch in 2011, is upping their game and will introduce something called a Skynest in September 2024.

Skynests will be rows of bunks (stacked 3 high). Amenities in the Skynests will include USB charging ports, a reading light, ear plugs, full-size sheets, a blanket and a pillow. There are also seatbelts to make sure that the beds adhere to onboard safety protocols.

Skynests are situated in the middle section of a handful of Air New Zealand Dreamliners; specifically the ones flying the Auckland to New York and Auckland to Chicago routes.

At this time, the price to “rent” a Skynest for 4 hours will be roughly US$254-$381 (that’s on top of their economy fare. Of course).

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary