This Airplane Footrest Brings First Class to Coach

Tanya Ghahremani

Imagine sitting in coach during your next flight, but also somehow putting your feet up with what little legroom you’re offered. It’s not an unattainable dream with this ingenious product: The Sleepy Ride airplane footrest is a gamechanger for anyone who flies coach often and yearns to put their feet up since, as the name suggests, it is literally a footrest you can take with you on a plane.

And it works — more than 1,000 five-star customer reviews on Amazon back up its claims. As one customer commented, “it makes a ride in coach feel like first class.”

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It works because it’s so compact. It’s constructed from a memory foam material that molds to your feet and ankles while you use it and folds up when you’re not. You can easily slip it into your carry-on, or even your backpack, while you’re at the airport.

When you want to use it, simply hook the attached straps onto the arms of the tray table in front of you. The tray table doesn’t have to be kept lowered after you fasten on the Sleepy Ride — you can close it again and enjoy the footrest just the same. The straps are adjustable as well, so you can add or subtract length from it depending on your height or how elevated you want your feet.

Courtesy of Amazon
Courtesy of Amazon

To buy: amazon.com, $20

There are health benefits of using a footrest during a long flight, too. Similar to how compression socks and leggings help to increase circulation in your legs while you’re in the air (and thus moving around less), keeping your feet extended and elevated will help to decrease the risk of blood clots we all face during lengthy flights.

The footrest works with any airplane seat that has a tray table in front of it. However, if you’re in an exit row, it’s worth checking with your airline to make sure it’s still okay to use it — rules are different for those seats.

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