SAS - Comfy Challenge

SAS - Comfy Challenge

To promote the introduction of its first refurbished A330 aircraft – which features a new Business Class cabin with extra wide seats, bedding from Hastens, and mood lighting – SAS invited a number of travellers on an international flight from Oslo Gardermoen to take part in what it called the ‘Comfy Challenge’ sleep competition.

The airline placed its new Business seat in the transit hall at the airpor t and the rules for participants were simple: Lie on the bed, wear an eye mask, put in ear plugs, and fall asleep within 15 minutes. The person that fell asleep in the shortest time would win a trip to New York in SAS’ new Business Class.

There was no possibility of cheating as the participants were hooked up to electrodes that measured their brain activity and which was monitored by a sleep researcher who could see the different phases of sleep participants went through.

On the day of the competition, the airport was busy and there was a big crowd of bystanders. Some participant fell asleep within 15 minutes after the cabin crew pulled the covers over them. The person to fall asleep the quickest was Wilhelm Blomberg from Helsinki, who was fast asleep in the new seat after just six minutes and two seconds (video here ).

We’ve received excellent feedback from our customers since we launched the new long haul cabin, and this was an informal and fun test to show how comfortable our new seats are,

says SAS Head of Marketing Marianne Orderud.