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Sleep Pods: Coming To Your Airport Soon?


If you’re old enough to fondly remember Pullman sleepers, WWII troop trains and Navy transports, you’ll love the new airport sleep pods. The teeny little bunks are popping up in terminals all over the world. They’re a welcome convenience for passengers who have long waits or delays, and want some basic privacy and to lie down in comfort until their flight.

Asian airports have been using sleep lockers for many years, and now others in London, Moscow, Philadelphia and Dubai are making the pods available. Some are literally stacked little horizontal spaces not much bigger than check-your-bag lockers, and a bit smaller than the old Pullman sleeper bunks. Others are tiny rooms with a bed, closet and wash station, some with private toilets and shower stalls.

The sleep pods rent for as much as $30 per hour, about what you’d pay for a full night in a cheap motel room or hostel. Of course, because they’re right there in the airport, they’re much more convenient for waiting and stranded passengers. For more information, go to yotel.com or sleepbox.com

It May Happen Soon ... Robots Fly Passenger Jets PDF Print E-mail


According to Popular Mechanics, at a lab trial a robot actually simulated a successful flight and landing of a Boeing 737. Experts predict that it’s just a matter of time before you’ll travel on flights piloted by robots.

Could anything possibly go wrong when you’re a passenger on a real flight with a mechanical pilot? We can only imagine such statements that follow the announcement: this is your robot captain speaking:

We’re about to take off, so fasten your seat belts and get comfy while the flight attendant oils up my joints.

Please do not be concerned if you hear heavy metal music and loud breathing from the cockpit. The flight attendant has volunteered to welcome your robot pilot to the Mile High Club.

Will those drunken passengers in the cheap seats please quiet down. If you don’t, my robot cops will drag your sorry butts down the aisle and toss you off the flight.

In just a few minutes, we will be landing in Omaha. Oops, squawk, arp, clank. Or maybe Orlando. Squeak, clank, gulp. Or is it Oslo? Blick, crank, pop. I’m a bit rusty remembering names.

 
 
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