Inflight flat beds 'great for sleep'

Travellers who choose to take a business class flight with an airline offering lie-flat beds are likely to enjoy a better quality of sleep, according to the Sleep Council.

A growing number of carriers have installed flat beds in their premium cabins in recent times as competition in the aviation sector increases.

This could be beneficial for some passengers as they may enjoy a significantly more comfortable inflight experience as a result.

"For those passengers lucky enough to take advantage of the new flat beds on planes, the ability to adopt a more comfortable sleeping position must improve the likelihood of more refreshing rest," commented Jessica Alexander of the Sleep Council.

However, she went on to ask whether this is at the detriment of economy class flyers, who may have less space as a result of bigger seats in the other cabins.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Silverjet are among those airlines that offer flat beds for their premium customers.

• American Airlines business class promoted
• Alitalia could be relaunched within a month
• Gulf Air reschedules flights from London to Muscat
• Decade of Caribbean flights for Virgin Atlantic
• Star Alliance wins business travel award for third year
• Norway becomes member of UNWTO
• Virgin 'cuts Heathrow check-in time to 40 minutes'
• Etihad targets 25m passengers by 2020
• American Airlines to offer premium customer benefits
• South-east Asian 'triangle' focuses on tourism