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1st Class Sleeper

Pay Coach Price for some  First Class ZZZs

By Patricia Kutza

I was hunkering down for a flight that promised to be long and way too uncomfortable.  Wedged between two unsavory seatmates, a sixteen-something girl with a cell phone glued to her ear and a seventy-ish man threatening a snore-a-thon, I strained to remember tips from my positive-thinking book collection.

Having treated my friends to a farewell cocktail before boarding the plane, my eyes were soon droopy and I was ready to surrender my body for some ZZZs’.  Normally this is a tortuous affair as I fidget, trying to configure my 5’ 10+” frame to the considerable limitations of the coach seat.  This time was different.

Rewind back to a month earlier when a small article in a travel goods trade magazine peaked my interest.  The article talked about the 1st Class Sleeper, a product promising the kind of comfort that first class passengers purportedly enjoy.  I was mesmerized by this prospect: I could pay for a coach ticket and, sans the free drinks and better grade of beer nuts, feel like I was flying in first class.

So, back aboard this flight, I was not fidgeting.  Instead I spread out the 1st Class Sleeper cushion behind my back, inserted the plastic hose in the nozzle and inflated it with ten easy breaths.  I adjusted my seat belt to fit and settled down for some well-needed sleep.  Granted, this handy product doesn’t give you 1st class leg or elbowroom.  But it does provide an adjustable way to increase your comfort, whether your flight lasts 25 minutes or 13 hours.

When the pilot announced that we were within 20 minutes from landing, I opened the valve, pressed my back against the cushion, and released the captured air.  With four easy folds to the cushion, I stuffed the Sleeper back in its bright orange carrying bag, nesting it with some accessories in my computer case.  Well-rested, I was ready for terra firma.

Images courtesy of Robert Duncan

Contact information:

1st Class Sleeper is available from:

Magellans Travel Supplies, www.magellans.com

1st Class Sleeper, http://www.firstclasssleeper.com/

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