JetBlue unveiled four state-of-the-art sleeping pods at JFK Airport on Tuesday, each equipped with a combination of lights, music and vibrations. The goal is to soothe weary travelers to sleep and gently wake them about 20 minutes later. The futuristic JetNap stations — a first in the US — are offered free of charge and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Post put the EnergyPods to the test on Tuesday.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: JetBlue’s new nap pods are a nightmare.
On paper, it’s a great idea — give people a place to zonk out for a few minutes and escape the chaos of air travel. But in reality, it’s a total failure.
The only way I could have fallen asleep in this thing is if it were spitting out Ambien.
There are kids climbing all over the machine, the leather feels cheap — and they placed the things right next to the bathrooms, not the brightest idea.
Right off the bat, I knew there would be no counting sheep for me as I climbed into the “JetNap EnergyPod” — more like an uncomfortable, $12,985 lounge chair loaded with germs.
Once inside, I was bombarded by an array of airport aromas, lights and sounds that were not blocked out by the privacy visor like JetBlue promised.
To make things worse, I was forced to leave my bags in an out-of-sight storage bin, which felt like it could be easily accessed while I drifted off to dreamland for 20 minutes.
After getting situated, I tried to decipher the directions, but they were confusing and the buttons were not labeled correctly.
Once the pod started vibrating, that’s when I knew there was no meeting Mr. Sandman.
While it was designed to soothe weary travelers, the feature unfortunately did the exact opposite.
Overall, having experienced waiting in a first-class lounge for a flight, JetBlue’s new EnergyPods at JFK do not provide a first-class experience.
Don’t believe me? Just ask New Yorkers.
“I’d be a little skeeved out about how dirty it is,” said Brian Skelly, a Long Island resident, flying to San Diego out of JFK. “Its cleanliness would be an issue for me.”
In the end, I believe JetBlue would have been better off investing their money in safety measures rather than big, clunky chairs to snooze in. I’d rather lie on a blanket on the floor.
These pods aren’t the first off-putting addition airlines have recently tried to implement: