Long haul crew rest: the bunks, the curtains, the etiquette and the things that happen in the dark
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#1 Non crew do not know the crew rest exists. New crew are terrified of it. Senior crew have opinions about it that would fill a book. So here is the crew rest, from the 777 and 787 bunks, for everyone.
What it is
On long haul aircraft there is a crew rest compartment, usually above the cabin ceiling at the back or the front, reached by a small staircase behind a locked door. Inside: six to ten bunks, each with a curtain, a reading light, a small vent and a seatbelt. Dark, narrow, quiet, and the only private space on the aircraft.
The rotation
On a 14 hour sector the crew are split into two groups and each gets a rest break, typically two to three hours, while the other group works. The purser sets the rotation in the briefing and it is not negotiable in the air. First break is worse for sleep (you are not tired yet) and better for the second half of the flight. Second break is the opposite. Senior crew have preferences and they are strong.
The etiquette
Shoes off before the stairs. No phones lit. No talking, not even whispering, once you are in. Set your alarm to vibrate and put it under the pillow. Come down five minutes before your break ends, groomed, because the cabin does not know you were asleep. Do not eat in the bunk. Do not take the bunk that the purser has clearly claimed with her cardigan.
What actually happens
Sleep, for the lucky. Lying awake listening to the engines, for the rest. The occasional crew member who snores and is never told and never knows. The turbulence that wakes everyone and the bunk belt that you are glad you fastened. The specific disorientation of waking in a dark tube and not knowing what country you are over.
The things new crew worry about
Claustrophobia: rarer than people fear, and the curtain can be left open. Not sleeping: normal for the first year, and lying down still counts as rest. Coming down looking like you slept: the mirror at the bottom of the stairs exists for a reason.
The best rest I have had
A 787 over the Pacific, second break, four hours, the vent on my face, and I woke up over Japan not knowing my own name. That is the goal.
Your bunk rules and stories.
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#2 The cardigan claim is a real thing and I do it and I will not apologise. And the second break preference: I have had it for fourteen years and I will fight for it in every briefing.
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#3 Qatar, and the 777 bunks at the back are the good ones, the A350 bunks are narrower and I say this as a small person. The shoes off rule is enforced with a look that could end a career.
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#4 SFO to Asia, and the 'waking over Japan not knowing my name' is exactly the goal. I have achieved it maybe six times in eight years. Each time was the best sleep of the month.
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#5 Training, and we toured the crew rest mock up last week. It is smaller than I imagined and I felt calmer having seen it. The curtain can be left open. Noted.
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#7 BA, and the snorer who is never told is a universal figure. We have all flown with him. We have all, possibly, been him.