Fort Worth's American Airlines fluffs up on-board napping amenities

Fort Worth-based American Airlines is working to improve its sleep game and has signed on innovative global sleep company Casper to fluff up the pillows.

Beginning in December, customers seated in long-haul international and transcontinental First or Business class and Premium Economy will get access to a suite of advanced sleep offerings designed by Casper's engineering team.

Founded in 2014, Casper is the company best known for its "mattress in a box," wherein the mattress is delivered to your door in a box. You unroll it and give it 24 hours to let it puff up. This is the first time Casper has applied its sleep expertise beyond the home to the world of travel.

The Casper line of sleep products for American will include a mattress pad, duvet, pillow, day blanket, lumbar pillow, pajamas, and slippers, with the exact offering varying based on the route.

Casper studied the travel environment for months to better understand the challenges of in-flight sleep. Their sleep engineers applied their renowned expertise in sleep research and sleep science to design innovative products specifically for air travel and made exclusively for American Airlines. So this wasn't some casual analysis, there was actual science involved.

Casper researched more than a dozen versions of the onboard pillow and tested it with a variety of fibers to find the perfect balance of support and breathability for customers. Inspired by performance outerwear, Casper’s signature duvet and the onboard duvet are created to provide comfort at all altitudes, and its sewn-through seams create small, rectangular chambers for a consistent fill distribution to stay fluffy and in place.

American put these designs to the test with customers on some of its longest flights, including Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand. The airline also tapped the expertise of some of its most frequent travelers, its flight attendants, for advice on fit, durability, and comfort.

"Customers and crew members who tried Casper on our flights said they loved it," says American Airlines senior VP Kurt Stache in a release. "Casper has set a new standard for premium sleep products, and our new line showcases their attention to detail and design and their commitment to providing the best rest possible for American Airlines customers."

In addition to long-haul international and transcontinental flights, Casper products will be available on these select routes:

• Boston (BOS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
• New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) – Seattle (SEA)
• Miami (MIA) – Seattle (SEA)
• Miami (MIA) – San Francisco (SFO)
• U.S. to Hawaii
• U.S. to Northern Rim of South America (MAR, MAO, BOG, CCS, CLO, GYE, LPB, MDE, UIO, VVI)

The only problem here is that Casper is not available on any domestic flights out of DFW International Airport, ostensibly because most of those flights are short. Wah, American Airlines, we need our naps, too.