It's a well-known fact that New Zealand is far, with a direct flight from New York to Auckland typically taking just under 18 hours. So it is welcome news that Air New Zealand , the country's principal airline, is launching revolutionary sleeping pods, known as Economy Skynest , on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flights—fitted with bunk beds, no less. That's right: economy passengers flying ultra-long-haul with the airline can book themselves one of six horizontal bunk beds from May 18, for select flights beginning in November. The beds come with a mattress, bedding, privacy curtain, reading light, charging ports and amenity kits with eye masks and earplugs, as well as a seat belt, of course, and will enable fliers to “stretch out, lie flat and get a few hours’ proper rest in the air,” so says Air New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Nikhil Ravishankar. “By giving more people the chance to properly rest on ultra-long-haul flights , it helps make travel to and from New Zealand more manageable,” he added.…