Air New Zealand review - by Peter Pomeranze
5 February 2007

Auckland to Honolulu business class-Although the new improved business class is not offered on this flight of nearly 9 hours we had a very pleasant experience. A very professional and attentive crew tended to our needs in the full 767-300 forward compartment. The two meals served were fine and the seats (while not fully reclining) were quite comfortable for the journey. The individual screens were tiny but offered a decent selection of films (not on demand though). All in all quite a positive experience with this carrier on this route.

Air New Zealand review - by L Sheather
5 February 2007

Found Air NZ ground and air crew professional. In the lounge in Auckland you check in from a choice of several counters and are processed there and then through customs, alleviating the annoyance of several queues. The crew were professional but friendly - nothing was too much trouble - you were pampered without being fawned over. The interior is restful and found the new seats/bed comfortable. Food and wine choice excellent.

Air New Zealand review - by Tom Renton
1 February 2007

Auckland to Heathrow via Hong Kong. Aircraft clean, meals good, cabin staff excellent. Fly with them again. Also the range of entertainment made a long flight bearable.

Air New Zealand review - by F Walker
29 January 2007

Melbourne to Christchurch return in business class with Air NZ in January 2007. New aircraft and all very clean. Meals excellent, and choice of about 20 movies with a portable DVD player. Flight attendants a delight on both legs. Would definitely fly again with Air NZ.

Air New Zealand review - by Steve Francisco
26 January 2007

LAX-AKL round-trip in Business Premier and CHC-MEL, SYD-AKL in coach. Outbound seat 3A on 747-400 preferrable to upper deck 17A. Very comfortable leather seats along with footrest which doubles as a visitor's seat. I joined my wife for dinner on the outbound flight -- delightful. Roast pork loin with root veggies for dinner was great followed by New Zealand Kapiti ice cream for dessert with NZ cheese and dessert wine. Wine selection excellent. The lie-flat bed was a little hard for me but full recline is worth it on long haul. Flight crews friendly and helpful. IFE exceptional with noise-cancelling headsets and exhaustive list of movies, music, videos on demand. CHC-MEL on A320 was fine. Chicken and salad with complimentary wine and inflight movie on 3 hour 15 minute flight. Very new, clean aircraft with leather seats. SYD-AKL on 767-300. Interior a little worn but again service was great. All flights were on-time. Air New Zealand is an exceptional airline. They could teach our US carriers about service and treating their passengers as guests.

Air New Zealand review - by Michael Hall-Smith
26 January 2007

LHR-HKG-AKL and return, Business Premier. Weary of the bullying and inferior lounge at LAX, we were keen to try out ANZ's new route and seats. Both are winners. HKG is serene and calming airport, with smiling staff. NZ 8/39 timings meant airport virtually deserted. NZ38 also fortunate to offer two night flights, with best chance of sleep; homeward the AKL-HKG is at night (after a very late meal), but the leg back to LHR is a 13.5 hr stretched day. New seats easily convert to beds (and back again if you can't sleep). Only snag is that you are rather divided from your companion, having to put your chin over a wall to converse. Ideal for solitary travellers. IFE gave plenty of choice of films, classical music tending towards crossover. Headphones excellent; could be worn sunk in pillows as a noise reducer. Airshow channel mapping route progress very sophisticated. Food pretty good (avoid cooked egg at breakfast), wines delicious, but noticed people drink much less of them these days. Cabin staff friendly and efficient. It remains a good airline with a much improved route.

Air New Zealand review - by Bill Atkins
21 January 2007

AKL-PPT-AKL Business Class. Revamped cabin still very old fashioned and new seats extremely uncomfortable for anyone bigger than a child, especially when seat bottom cushion has collapsed as mine had on both legs. Service marginal and not too friendly. Food less than average. Probably a good idea that Air NZ is giving up the route to Air Tahiti Nui who know something about service and customer satisfaction.

Air New Zealand review - by Harry Anderson
12 January 2007

LHR-HKG-AKL Business class. Lower deck out going very much quieter than upper deck incoming. In addition the upper deck seats/beds are forward of the Premium economy seats and without a divding curtain I felt a bit like a performer on a stage with the audience in Premium Economy looking on! Food was ok - I found the rice to be very stodgy and dry at the base, when I complained I was offered the menu and selected the lamb - which was excellent. I do not drink alcohol but my partner who is a wine drinker assured me that the wines offered were first class with a good range of locally produced wines available. The IFE system was very good if you allow for the selection being slow but I had no problem with it. The sound quality is the best I have heard on any aircraft due in no small part to the noise cancelling head phones. As for the beds, they seem a bit problematical with the flight crew being called out on more than a couple of occasions to help passenger either recline them or erect them. The flight attendants were very good and seemed to be available when you needed them. I did find one of the male flight attendants calling me "mate" and my partner "darling" a bit patronising - but I dont think he felt so. I can really see no other airline that can match ANZ on price or service and they will be my first choice as long as they keep up the service.

Air New Zealand review - by James Scott
4 January 2007

I fly Air New Zealand on a 6 monthly basis from Auckland-Perth return and in 2006 the AKL-BNE Route on 747-400. Air New Zealand service, food, entertainment above average and perhaps even the best airline on these routes. Air NZ Is the only airline with a direct AKL-PER Service. Although this is a long flight, staff are great and food has always been superb!

Air New Zealand review - by Jane Benge
1 January 2007

LHR-HKG-AKL. Service indifferent LHR-HKG good HKG-AKL. Food, particularly breakfast, nothing to write home about. Business class bed very good. AKL-HKG-LHR. Service again indifferent on both legs in business class, breakfast omelet set in an oily mess. Roll arrived after start. No sugar ever with the coffee. Singapore economy would be better in this respect but again have to say the bed was excellent.

Air New Zealand review - by Agus Setiawan
29 December 2006

AKL-SYD-AKL in business. Sydney to Auckland in Business Premier. Love the new style seat - more privacy and comfort. IFE excellent, although the system is somewhat slow and not many choices available as Krisflyer. However enough for this 3 hours flight. Food quite tasty. The only one flight attendant serving was attentive and efficient. Auckland to Sydney, upgraded to business. Old style front facing business seat. Cabin and seats look old and not as comfortable as the new business class. Again food good. Flight attendants helpful and friendly.

Air New Zealand review - by Scott Thomas
15 December 2006

LAX-AKL Despite being a Star Alliance Silver Member was declined a seat choice although I was checking in 5 hours prior. 6/2 tall and placed at the back of the plane and requested not to put my seat back because the gentleman behind had no room. Food was terrible. IFE - why are double 3.5 jacks still being used - renders headphones that are actually any good useless. Great to have dolby sound but cheap headphones doesn't allow you to enjoy it. FA service rude, as well as ground staff. The flight AKL-BNE was refreshing and al ot better than the long-haul service. Happy and helpful FA's changed my perception of Air NZ completely. If only another Star Alliance Airline operated BNE-LAX.

Air New Zealand review - by Alan K Duncan
27 November 2006

Multiple domestic flights on Air New Zealand. Auckland-Nelson; Christchurch-Queenstown; Queenstown- Auckland. The baggage allowance is impossibly small (20 kg total per pax; 2 bags total per pax) Although this may be workable for weekend domestic travelers, it penalizes foreign tourists who will almost always have more baggage than allowed. Given the quantity of US$ that my wife and I dropped in NZ, I feel that these limits are inappropriate. They will only make compromises to these limits when flying a partner airline connecting internationally. Furthermore, the check-in agent in Queenstown was very rude about the matter, particularly since we were travelling business class on all of the international segments. They need more competition to foster service quality.

Air New Zealand review - by Craig Taylor
25 November 2006

LHR-HKG-LHR Economy. Very impressed with Air NZ. Both flights on time and ground staff friendly. The crew where just as friendly. The return flight was empty so had a row to myself. I flew on the refurbed 747 and along with the extra few inches of leg room over BA and CX and the excellent IFE the flight made more bearable in economy class. The IFE was very to up to date and there was plenty to keep me occupied for the flight duration.

Air New Zealand review - by Joy Leung
22 November 2006

HKG-LHR-HKG Economy. Ground staff polite for we arrived 1hr before flight. 1/3 full plane and thus people can get a whole 3 to 4-seat row to sleep. Leg room very sufficient. Entertainment-on-demand is resourceful with very updated hot-pick movies. Both meals okay especially unlimited Haagen-Dazs icecream supply. Nice to have sweet before getting off the plane. Unfortunately luggage got undelivered and had to wait for 6 hours to get them back from next CX plane. Though it's the rigid and unconcern attitude of Heathrow staff making the greatest spot of the trip but no compensation or empathy from Star Alliance is still quite disappointing. Return trip - Ground staff friendly. 1/2 full this time. Not actively providing ice-cream and the food is still okay. Luggage arrived safely this time. Recommendation: flight time is quite inconvenient for HK people. We needed to sleep 1 night at London to get early train and it's already 6:30pm when returning to HK. Reception desk is quite far away esp. for tube user in Heathrow. Have some HK newspaper for LHR-HKG trip would be much better. For some speedy HK people you have to wait for a while to get service from FA must say for a previously die-hard supporter for CX, NZ is really value-for-money (HK$5000 for return ticket and tax inclusive) and on some aspects is far superior than CX. I would certainly have another trip with NZ if luggage delivery can be more secured.

Air New Zealand review - by Barry J Hodge
21 November 2006

Business Class from Hong Kong to Heathrow. I picked this flight because of the early (08.15) departure. This meant I could get home the same day I set off, as I had to transfer flights at Heathrow. Seating was on the upper deck, the front part being Business, the rear part being premium Economy. Seats are Virgin Atlantic type, in a 'herring bone' layout. The seat was very comfortable, and indeed, although it would convert to a flat bed, I found the normal seat more comfortable (I am over six feet three and built for comfort rather than speed). The only problem I found was that you needed to be double jointed to reach such as your head set socket or water bottle, and I kept nudging controls inadvertently - tables would pop up and seats would recline. This was not too much of an inconvenience, however. Service commences with breakfast followed by afternoon tea and then a hot meal before arrival at Heathrow. In addition snacks and soup are available throughout. The service was exemplary. Only ten Business class seats meant that service was never far away . Individual courses were laid, and although I did not patrtake there was a well chosen wine list which seemed to be appreciated by fellow travellers. The standard of food was good, except for a chicken dish, which I didn't eat as it was very greasy. The staff manner was very good - the right mix of friendliness and professionalism without being intrusive. I have previously used NZ First Class, before they dispensed with it, but found this to be an acceptable alternative and will certainly use them again.

Air New Zealand review - by A Misquitta
21 November 2006

Auckland to Singapore and Hongkong to Auckland. Easy transfer from International to Domestic (New Plymouth) and Domestic to International, Good food, good number of flight crew, great selection of programmes/movies, good check in staff. Will fly again.

Air New Zealand review - by Andrew Estefan
20 November 2006

Brisbane to LHR in Pacific Economy. Flight attendants friendly and efficient. Aircraft clean and well presented. B747 from BNE to AKL. Excellent seat pitch. AKL to LHR via LAX on B777 - 32" seat pitch, so less than 747 but fine. Seats have memory foam cushions so comfortable, but headrest wings not very comfortable. Despite being efficient and friendly, there are two main drawbacks to Air NZ's new economy service: First, the food is very average and served in extremely small quantities. I was hungry at the end of each leg of the journey. My advice is to pack some food of your own to supplement the rather meagre offerings. Second drawback is that the seat back entertrainment, whilst on-demand offers up a very mundane program of entertainment. Limited movie/TV options to pass the long hours. That being said, if the price is right I would fly with them again.

Air New Zealand review - by Roger Bancroft
27 October 2006

Melbourne to Auckland New Business Class. Aircraft B 747 and B777. There was a time when Air New Zealand was way ahead of the crowd. Things change and the company has had some very difficult times. They are now re inventing themselves as a better than average carrier, and in my opinion are doing this well. The sevice level and attitude of all staff is in my opinion excellent. The aircraft is clean and the food fine. The seating is a bother to me. The concept and privacy are excellent. As mentioned by another passenger review, the controls are in an unfortunate position, and are extremely sensitive. It takes time to keep your arms in a position that does not activate some surprises during flight. When in the flat position I found the privacy excellent but lacking in air flow. I do have a back problem, that is why I only fly flat. Unfortunately I could not get comfortable on either flight. I cannot put my finger on the exact reason, it just did not work for me. Even though the seat cum bed did not work for me, it should please most travellers.

Air New Zealand review - by R Libbrecht
27 October 2006

LHR-LAX-NAN in Economy. Although check-in at Heathrow took quite a long time, the service on the 747 that took us to LA was all right. The food was great, enough room to put your legs and entertainment system is great! A vast diversity of movies and music makes sure the passengers don't get bored. However, we had a large delay because of a problem with one of the passengers before take off at Heathrow, which caused us being late for our LA - Nadi flight. Because one of the pilots was sick, we had to do a stopover in Honolulu. There was also no personal entertainment system provided on the 767, which looked quite aged. Cabin crew once more very friendly.

Air New Zealand review - by Kevin Cleary
27 October 2006

Lhr-Lax-Akl-Mel & Syd-Akl-Lax-Lon in Business Premier. This was my first time in the new J class on Air New Zealand and it is better than I thought it would be. The suites which I have experienced on Virgin before are very comfortable and an improvement on the previous offering in business. The food is good in that fusion cuisine lets see how many flavours we can get on the plate sort of way. On Air NZ that the London based crews are better than the Auckland based crews - they put more effort into looking after you and appear more enthused about their jobs. After many trips on the airline I have decided that its because the London based crews have been in the job for a shorter period of time and the ex LHR flights leave at a more sociable time perhaps. Transfers at LAX are the absolute pits, the immigration and security systems are useless and the terminal is now more stretched because KLM and Air France are sharing the facilities. The new lounge at LAX is a big improvement but now that Air NZ is flying via Hong Kong I will not be transiting in LA anymore. The lounge at Sydney was busy but pleasant apart from one item of food on offer: whoever thought that corned beef and root vegetable was a suitable filling for a spring roll needs a lot of help in the menu creation department: its a truly disgusting combination on all levels. I like the new business premier class, it will remain my preferred method of travel between Europe and New Zealand/ Australia, its not as good as the old first class though especially needs more lavatories.

Air New Zealand review - by Andrew Eyden
22 October 2006

Perth-Auckland. The aircraft was a 767-300 getting on in age but well kept (I understand these aircraft will be replaced by Air-NZs new 777-200 in the near future on this rote.) Food was excellent as was the seating, Crew very pleasant they seemed to enjoy there jobs.

Air New Zealand review - by Steve Thomas
5 October 2006

AKL-CHC. Tired worn out 733. Seats uncomfortable & didn't adjust in our row. FAs okay. No IFE although popdown screens used for safety demo. CHC-AKL on new 777-200. Aircraft much better. Asked for two window seats and got them. Able to use IFE for half of flight. Coffee & biscuit OK. Nav system great. Crew friendly but tired.

Air New Zealand review - by Boris Kunsevitsky
30 September 2006

MEL-AKL-SFO Economy, SFO-AKL-MEL Premium Economy. Not good. Advertised 34" pitch only on 747 to AKL, then 777 with 32". Last row of the cabin despite Star Alliance Gold. Seats extremely uncomfortable, like rocks. Could not lie flat even though two neighbouring seats were empty: armrests do not go up more than 30 degrees. Average food in very low quantities. Premium economy on 777 pathetic, not worth the extra outlay. Seats as narrow and uncomfortable as in economy with solid armrests. Same food, except for a cheese platter. Premium bar service? Did not see it, was not offered. FAs cover both Business and Premium Economy, and were in neither. No promised snack bar either. 747 upper deck AKL-MEL was a huge improvement on sitting, but would be appreciated on the AKL- SFO sector. IFE OKAY, but very sluggish.

Air New Zealand review - by Angela Small
13 September 2006

BNE-AKL-HNL Part of RTW with Star Alliance (Economy). Supposedly has great IFE, but beware AKL-HNL flight runs a 767 which means no individual movie screens – I had to crane my neck to see the main screen – definitely bad on a long haul daytime flight. Great food and friendly efficient service however. Decent seats with winglets, footrest and good legroom. Beware also HNL customs are unbelievably slow – get off aircraft quick and run like the wind!

Air New Zealand review - by A Scott
8 September 2006

SYD-AKL-RAR return in business class. First 2 legs on 767 and flts very good, old style seats perfectly acceptable for 2 day flights under hours. Crew very good and lounges in both Sydney and Auckland well stocked and comfortable. Return had mixed reviews. RAR-AKL departed at 3am on a A320-which it turned out was operated by Freedom Air(however crew and aircraft dressed as NZ!) - much smaller seat pitch, upon boarding was offered breakfast (at 3am!) and told it would not be served prior to landing, obviously too tired to enjoy the food. Crew had no eye shades/ear plugs or amenities as they said we dont do that on Pacific flts-they were offered outbound. The movie screen was directly in our eyes and found it hard to sleep-overall poor flt. Akl-Syd on new Business Premier B777 and it was excellent with full entertainment options and great (needed) sleep after the Rarotonga flight. Overall good flights and crew, however you do notice a difference between real ANZ flights and Freedom Air ones.

Air New Zealand review - by R Thompson
6 September 2006

SFO-AKL business class. A nice try by Air NZ with their new pod seats, but these seats have many things working against them. First, to get to a flat bed you have to get out and lower it down. Same for returning it back to a seat. Also the seat and tray table controls are in an inconvenient spot so your knee or elbow constantly hit them and all through the flight the table pops out, seat gets moved around, etc. Inflight service much better than previous offer, but they stop it like an hour out and show a commercial laden movie about arriving in Auckland. This is a bit cheeky on their part. Meal service is pretty weak considering the class of service and the price for the return business class ticket. Also, on the 777, it really fills packed in and people sleeping end up with their feet sticking out into the aisle. Compared to SQ business class (which is better even though their seats don't recline all the way) Air NZ seems to have taken the little nuances that bug people in economy and incorporated them into their business class product. The seating arrangement means that you sit with the person's feet (smell and all) next to you, you have to turn your body about 100 degrees to look out the window, and there is an element of overall privacy missing.

Air New Zealand review - by T Patching
6 September 2006

MEL-WEL. Good aircraft, an A320, considerably less noise than the Boeing 737 equivalent flown on this route by Qantas. IFE okay, mini-screens above seats dotted around cabin, can be difficult to watch if you're right under it. Meal was the same as I had been served five months earlier CHC-MEL. Chicken pie good but would have liked something different. Service fine both on the ground in Melbourne and in the air. Very late arrival in Wellington so breezed through customs but had to wait a while for bags.

Air New Zealand review - by David Bielli
12 August 2006

SYD-AKL-LAX economy. SYD-AKL on new A320 and AKL-LAX on re-fitted 747. Flew them couple of years ago to LA, and was not impressed. Their air fares were the lowest now, by about AUD900!! so I decided to give it another go and glad I did. On the Sydney to Auckland leg - the food was chicken meal which was great, seat a bit tight, but better than most I have flown in US. Auckland to LA great, new seats in economy, comfortable, slim style, which gives enough space to rest (6'2), AVOD was great, with plenty of choices of movies and TV and the Travel Map was the best I have seen so far, very interactive and fun. FA's were polite and nice, food was ok, not great, but not bad either. One of the best economy flights I had in a while - QF should learn something and go down with the fares for their inferior product over the Pacific. Would recommend NZ to anyone.

Air New Zealand review - by Robert Eicholz
12 August 2006

LAX-LHR-LAX Business Class. The food was great, and service outstanding. New Zealand wines were great, as was my New Zealand - style lamb. My only complaint is the seats. The new business class "pods" (like the ones on Virgin) can seem confining and isolated. Yes, a person can dine with you by sitting (uncomfortably) on your ottoman. But other than that, you are on your own for 11 hours. Also, the seat doesn't recline very far.It can be made into a flat bed, but in recline mode, it doesn't go back very far. So you basically have 2 options: semi-reclined, and flat. In any case, you are almost completely isolated. That said, it beats economy and premium economy by a huge margin. I feel a bit guilty about complaining at all.

Air New Zealand review - by Sophie Bergin
13 July 2006

LHR-LAX-LHR in Business class. Good service and cabin configuration in Business class, and good amenities. The food did not match the class. Only 1 starter - no choice - on both outbound and return it was a salad with cheese. On outbound my steak was inedible and the ice cream was so frozen there was frost on it. The return flight did not have enough meat meals available and I was given a fish option, which was dry and I returned. I was annoyed as I had asked for duck and the stewardess came back 5 minutes later and checked that it was duck that I wanted. Then she returned and did not apologise that there was no more duck, I asked was there lamb and she advised only the two fish options remained. The cabin supervisor on the return flight was bumbling and not as professional as the supervisor on the outbound leg. Luggage in LAX took an unacceptable amount of time to arrive out - even with Priority tags Despite these negative comments I would fly them again only as their lie flat beds were good - but would only use miles, I would not pay for a business ticket when the food is so poor.

Air New Zealand review - by David Walter
11 July 2006

New 777 Premium Economy AKL-SFO. Good flight, service with a smile. This new class is worth the extra dollars, with premium class check in and first on and first off the aircraft policy - all helps especially on long flights. Seats are comfortable enough, slightly wider and a good level of recline, economy food but it was very good. You also get a cheeseboard with Liquors & port as well! You get Business class wines etc - only thing that lets this upgrade down is that it still gets served in plastic!

Air New Zealand review - by Ash Hogan
11 July 2006

SYD-AKL-LAX Pacific Economy / LAX-AKL-MEL Premium Economy. A320 SYD-AKL on a Friday afternoon. Arrived at check-in just before 3 hours prior to departure. Went to the service desk and explained my travelling companion was 6ft 6in and could they assist with bulkhead/exit row. Was promptly allocated 4D and 4F bulkhead with 4E blocked. Excellent flight on this relatively new A320, found leather seats comfortable and inflight service to be very good. Choice of meat pie or chicken with veg for meal. Some IFE headseat ports in row 4 were broken - FA's very apologetic and reseated where required - reason given was due to bassinet row, children often push things into the hole and thus break the port. B744 refurbished AKL-LAX. Confirmed exit row 43HJ. Unfortunately plane was full and also pax in 43K. With the new IFE monitors in every seat and the need to give exit row seats a tray table, these seats have lost about 2 inches in width compared to other economy seats. It was horrible - I had to get out of my seat to retrieve the IFE handset from within the armrest as I was so jammed in, I couldn't obtain it otherwise. IFE offered excellent range of new movies, TV shows, games and the airshow is the best I have seen. Flight was one hour late departing AKL due connecting passengers ex Christchurch. Crew were attentive and realising we were not drinking alcohol, presented us both with a one litre bottle of mineral water for the flight instead. B744 refurbished LAX-AKL-MEL. This is advertised as a through flight (NZ5) however aircraft and gate change in AKL. Had decided to pay the extra to upgrade to Premium Economy on the way home after the previous sardine experience on the previous flight. Check-in at LAX was at the Business Premier counter and very quick and professional 3 hours prior to flight. Priority boarding was a welcome change to the cattle call. Ascending the stairs to the bubble for our seats and actually seeing the 3-2 abreast almost made me cry with relief. Although it was meant to be a full cabin, Premium Economy went out with 11 of the 23 seats empty. Legroom is plentiful, however if you were a single passenger on the window seat, you would struggle to escape during the flight if the passenger next to you was asleep, or if the seats in front were reclined. Service was very good, albeit rushed - how two flight attendants in the bubble would cope with this mix of Business Premier and Premium Economy on a full flight is beyond me. Meals ex LAX were a bit average, however this is representative of all airlines. Drinks and snacks left out on the service bar for the cabin to enjoy. Regular service throughout the night. I obtained 7 hours sleep with the extra recline and width of this seat. Well worth the money, and would not hesitate for any long haul flight in the future. The service continuation to Melbourne had only 5 passengers in Premium Economy. Once again crew were very attentive and excellent, however I was surprised at the food offered to Business Premier customers which as it was walked past me, was being delivered in a cardboard box. All in all, for my first time on NZ I was impressed with the service and the IFE, and would recommend to others who have flown Qantas to the US on numerous occasions.

Air New Zealand review - by Trevor Bock
5 July 2006

Flew between Auckland and Tonga return in economy class. It was pretty average all round. Poor food. Poor service. Arrived hungry. How this airline rates 4* is beyond me. It should be about a 2* airline.

Air New Zealand review - by Nikos Tripodis
5 July 2006

LHR-LAX-RAR-NAD-LAX-LHR. This was our honeymoon flight and although I was a bit concerned about comments regarding the old Business Class of the ageing 747s, both my wife and I had an absolutely great experience. The food on all legs was top notch, imaginative and with enough options. Wine list was also very good and FAs very attentive and friendly. Special mention to the FAs on our last leg that made sure we were first out of the plane to catch our ultimate flight to Athens with a different airline. The only two things that were a let down were the business lounge in London and the IFE. The screens are rather old and for such a long trip AVOD would be great to have.

Air New Zealand review - by Matthew Francis
1 July 2006

LHR to LAX - Business Premier. Check in at Heathrow was very quick and smooth. Lounge shared with other carriers and quite busy but comfortable enough. Once on board the crew were very friendly and attentive with nothing too much trouble. IFE was good although a little unresponsive at times. Choice of films was good. Food and wine both excellent. The new seat is very comfortable in the reclined position and when converted into a flat bed more than adequate to catch up on your sleep. Overall a very pleasant experience.

Air New Zealand review - by Frank Walsingham
1 July 2006

SYD-AKL. Very impressed with the changes ANZ did on the shorter routes. Food was great - chicken breast with salad and great choices of vine. Travelled in Economy, but good seat pitch with one movie showing on general IEF. Pleasant FA's very quick and efficient. A320 was quite new and much more comfy than the B737's I flew with them before. AKL-LAX. Great new seats on their 747-400, again economy - great pitch, food was ok. The portions were however very small and service was rather slow. FA's were friendly, but not as friendly as on Asian carriers. Overall good experience. IFE was one of the best after Emirates and MAS. Lot of choices of movies, and other entertainment. Also would recommend to check out their new navigation map - has lot of info in it, maps, current GPS and other fun info. Would recommend ANZ over Qantas any day now.

Air New Zealand review - by Frank Walsingham
21 June 2006

SIN-AKL in economy. This is the first time I've flown in Air New Zealand's new 777-200 configuration. Overall, it was a pleasant flight. The almost entirely male crew was friendly and attentive. This was an overnight flight. Two meals provided. The dinner was a quite nice fish and lasagne. The breakfast a rather tasteless and hard omelette. Seat pitch was excellent and the seats themselves are quite comfortable for a 10 hour flight. Some people might find them a little on the hard side. The IFE system offers a supurb choice of films and music. I watched three films I had not seen previously. The system is not all that responsive sometimes when many people are using it, but the passengers were warned that this would be the case. Hopefully they will get this sorted in future. I like the ability to choose your own content from the wide choice and be able to pause or fast forward through a film. The toilets were kept clean and the cabin was spotless as befits a brand new plane.

Air New Zealand review - by Zoe Oram-Jones
29 May 2006

London Heathrow to Los Angeles in Economy. I found staff at check in and onboard to be friendly, they gave priority to children at all times. The inflight food was good, and my son loved his junior meals. There were frequent drinks and staff were courteous at all times. The inflight entertainment system was good.

Air New Zealand review - by C Boertjens
25 May 2006

AKL-SYD-AKL. I flew Air New Zealand to Sydney last weekend. I was very impressed with the new outfits. I was very confused by the mixed message I got from the appalling meal I got served. Okay, I few Economy class, but on one hand Air New Zealand is promoting this new look and feel, but when the actual service gets delivered, the customer experience is that of a very cheap airline. Even the cabin crew (they are fantastic) was embarrassed serving the food (on a carton board). And I wasn't the only one complaining on the flight. They will lose a lot of customers to Qantas or Emirates if this does not change (e.g. me and the group I travelled with). They still serve decent meals on their flights that do not leave the passenger hungry and wanting to chew the seats.

Air New Zealand review - by Elizabeth Bell
25 May 2006

AKL-BNE-AKL in May. First trip in Premium Economy on newly refurbished 747. Seating good with plenty of legroom. Seats in upper cabin 5 across configured ABC + JK. Row 23 is bulkhead seating but has no windows. FAs good as usual. Food, however, was dreadful and the same as served in Economy Trans Tasman. A cardboard box containing a slice of cardboard food, plus small container of ice-cream too solid to eat. Quality and quantity simply not good enough for the premium paid over economy. Wine service fine.

Air New Zealand review - by Mike Royston
25 May 2006

Return trip on ANZ from LAX to AKL in Economy. Seat pitch is good, AVOD good, but a little close to your face if the person in front is fully reclined. Service not that great. Why can they not do a drink round before they serve the food? Both times with dinners had finished eating before they got to us with the drinks. On the return, no second offering of wine, or any service of tea without having to ask for it. They may come often with water during the rest of the flight but do not expect much to drink with your meals. Both flights managed to get a row of three seats each, but not very comfortable to lay down on as the arm rest only go half way up, they do not fold back to the seats back. Overall the service needs a revamp and the only good thing about ANZ is the leg room.

Air New Zealand review - by Evan Horbay
25 May 2006

LAX-AKL flight in economy class on ANZ. I flew them for 2 reasons. Firstly, Star alliance, and the great connection from YYC at LAX. Boarding nearly an hour late, due to delayed crew (traffic). The plane was not refitted. The pitch was great at 34". Food was great, but 2 meals in 13 hours, and nothing else was not enough. The IFE stunk.! The tv's were old, fuzzy, and it was annoying to be turning your head! The lavatories were clean. FA's came around with lemon water, and were very pleasant. I can't wait to try the refitted 744.

Air New Zealand review - by Lucy Condillac
24 May 2006

MEL-AKL AKL-LAX return Economy. All on refitted 747's. Crews were friendly and professional. Only one type of vegetarian meal is available MEL-AKL and my travel agent didnt order the correct one, so no food. The crew could not do enough to offer me fruit, yogurt etc to try and make up for this. They came back and told me they had confirmed that the next leg of the flight would have my food, which it did. On the AKL-LAX overnight flight tt was also a nice touch they bring water through the cabin throughout the night - often on night flights the crew just vanish. The new IFE was a welcome distraction with music TV and movie choices. I do not know why people complain about LAX both ways it took less than 10 mins through check in & security - maybe getting there early helps.

Air New Zealand review - by L Johnson
24 May 2006

Heathrow to Auckland via LA economy with flight from Wellington to Christchurch as part of same booking. Queue at Heathrow daunting, but picked out to have security check of our luggage which meant we went to front of queue! First time we'd flown with ANZ and first time to NZ. Very pleased with legroom on long haul. Entertainment good, food good. Crew good - water served constantly. LA refuel nightmare - off plane into long, long queues, then herded back down to lounge. Wellington to Christchurch - good. Same luggage allowance as it had been booked as part of long haul. Will certainly fly ANZ again.

Air New Zealand review - by John Wood
18 May 2006

LHR-LAX-LHR Pacific Economy. Said goodbye to American Airlines after their decision to re-fit the seats they removed from economy. I was not surprised by the complete contrast between these two airlines. It was refreshing to be made welcome and feel as though you were not an intrusion to the cabin crew's routine. As on previous flights with ANZ the crew were friendly, courteous and professional. The meals were delicious and wine, as with all the beverages, was free. The IFE was great.

Air New Zealand review - by Scott Wilson
13 May 2006

LHR-AKL-LHR in business premier in April 2006 on NZ. Usual tight checkin area at LHR Terminal 3, but checkin in Auckland premium checkin a complete breeze with dedicated immigration queue (or no queue). New flatbed seats are wonderful for sleeping on, although a bit hard, but nevertheless got best sleep ever on long haul flights. 6 hours on one leg! With privacy, a duvet and pillow it was definitely an excellent way to fly. Crew provided first class friendly service that was a cut above what I've experienced on Air NZ before, they all seemed to love their jobs and very very willing to be helpful. Delicious cocktails available and excellent food, although portions not quite as much as I would have liked. Also noticed same menus have been used for about a year now, I have had the same breakfast about 4 times! Wines were excellent too and regularly topped up. Disappointed that fruit/cheese service after dinner had been downgraded severely to a small plate with 2 cheeses and a fig. New on demand IFE worked fine, with noise cancelling headphones and had a good variety of films, TV and music, although as most legs LHR-AKL-LHR are overnight, I slept most of the time. Not enough toilets in business premier downstairs on 747, 2 toilets for 2 cabins meant substantial queuing after breakfast on a full flight. Both flights were via LAX, and the one off point was that we were informed of severe delays at LAX immigration/customs which almost persuaded me to not go landside to the excellent new NZ lounge - but I did, and there were no queues at all at immigration or customs (although it took 15 minutes to go through security) . So it was good to get a shower and relax in the lounge before boarding (which is always frantic as the departure gate is packed with economy passengers clogging up the access but not queuing). All in all a business product light years ahead of the old one, with excellent seats and entertainment systems. Good service and good food/wine, but can't wait till the AKL-HKG-LHR route starts up.

Air New Zealand review - by David Lee
10 May 2006

LHR-AKL-NSN return in Economy. All arrangements made via ANZ website which was easy and efficient, offering seat selection (which worked without fail) plus competitive prices. Check in and flights were quite straightforward with clear announcements. Transit via LAX both ways worked well with ANZ staff ensuring it was as painless as possible. It strikes me that the new US immigration fingerprint and scan system cuts down a lot of the previous 'interview' system. The seat pitch of 34ins in economy is a godsend for flights of this duration. The AVOD system is also first class, pity that it broke on the return leg AKL-LAX, but at least ANZ offered compensation to all passengers. Meals of a good standard with NZ wines being offered. Cabin crew polite and helpful. Transfer from International to Domestic terminals at AKL was quite straightforward and well explained prior to flight arrival, you can walk it in 10 minutes which was a pleasant way to get your legs working again. AKL-NSN is currently flown with Saab SF340 aircraft which are pretty cramped but bearable for just over one hour flying time, the new Bombardier aircraft are now rolling out, so this will improve. Overall the complete experience was very good, excellent value for money and I would recommend Air New Zealand to anyone.

Air New Zealand review - by Krishnan Chitoor
24 April 2006

BNE-AKL. The aircraft was upgraded to a B744 from the scheduled A320 heading into the Easter Long Weekend. It was one of the oldest in their fleet. The crew have been given some very decent uniforms and that is just about the only refreshing bit in the flight across the ditch as the refreshments that were served were a bit of a joke and the lack of personal entertainment was a dampener. Air NZ isn't very appealing, Freedom Air was doing a far better job on this sector until NZ took over the route.

Air New Zealand review - by Rohan Ellis
12 April 2006

Auckland-Nadi-Auckland with Air NZ. AKL-NAN on old 767-300; and NAN-AKL on new 777-200. Service on 767 out of AKL was excellent - FA's cheerful, food tasty, drinks plentiful. Total experience on 777-200 mixed, excellent plane, excellent seating, excellent IFE, food tasty, drinks plentiful, average service from FA's - perhaps they were tired! Staff at AKL Air NZ check in & Koru Lounge superb & cheerful. Staff at NAN check in (local terminal services contractor) indifferent/lifeless. Chose Air NZ for their cheap internet fares.

Air New Zealand review - by Teresa Dakin
12 April 2006

Heathrow-Auckland via LAX in Economy. Be prepared for long queues at Heathrow, just when you thought you were at the front and sorted it was time to queue again. From the moment we got on our plane we were treated very well indeed with no request being too much, food was great and the wine kept coming - entertainment was first class, lots of leg room. There were no amenity kits, however we asked a member of the crew for eye shades and they obliged. We stayed in LA for a couple of days - we got through the airport almost straight away, very smooth indeed. On our return again fantastic service.

Air New Zealand review - by Neil Anderson
12 April 2006

LHR TO LAX. The United lounge at Heathrow is not really an acceptable lounge and Air New Zealand should look to change this partnership as it does not create a good impression. Boarded the aircraft and I was seated in 5A and in this section there were 14 seats and there was a fault with everyone. Despite this business suite being reasonably new it feels quite tatty already. The flight itself was good, food excellent, drink very good and service very attentive. There are probably 2 things that I would improve - it took over an hour from take off before pre dinner drinks were offered (not sure if this is normal or a problem with our flight) and the afternoon tea was much appreciated but only 1 scone was offered! Arrived into LAX and was in the cab within 20 minutes. All in all a very good service that just needs to be polished round the edges

Air New Zealand review - by Christian Hodson
31 March 2006

Pacific Economy Class LHR-AKL-LHR. The main feature was the excellent legroom on board the 747-400. The brand new AVOD system on the NZ1/NZ2 service is good, although the choice of movies is rather limited. The food service and the choice of wines was fine, although on the return journey my preferred choice was not available by the time the crew reached me seat. I think this is unfortunately par for the course on full flights with any airline. Overall, I think Air New Zealand are far better that Qantas / British Airways, but not quite as good as Emirates for long distance flights.

Air New Zealand review - by Neil Ramsay
18 March 2006

SYD to AKL return in economy on what appeared to be fairly new A320-200's. Check in both airports was quick and efficient. The ground staff couldn't have been more helpful. On board, very comfortable leather seats and, for economy, plenty of leg room. The three crew members were very attentive and cheerful on both flights. Food was fine too with two choices of hot meals and plenty to drink. IFE was adequate with lots of music channels and a movie shown on small overhead screens. All in all a very satisfactory service from the Kiwis. I would try their longer haul flights with confidence. Two small criticisms about the A320 (which I suppose is not under ANZ control) is that 2 toilets is not really sufficient for the number of passengers in economy and that the IFE controls are in the top of the arm rest and channel and volume are continually changed by elbow movement.

Air New Zealand review - by A Wessler
13 March 2006

AKL-LAX premium economy, upper deck of 747. Plenty of legroom, nice seat. Tasty food but very small portion. Excellent IFE. Service varied amongst staff but was generally good. No problems getting into bathrooms. 40 people/2 bathrooms seems an adequate ratio. Overall good value for money. Separate check-in and priority boarding are nice touches. Paid double the best available economy fare but still well below the cost of business class which for me would have been about 8 times the economy fare. As I am 6'6'' tall, normal economy is almost unbearable. Premium economy was quite ok and worth an extra thousand bucks. I'd do it again. On the way to New Zealand from LAX, by the way, Premium economy was not available as the plane wasn't yet modified, so we were upgraded to business. This was nice but not a lot better than the new premium economy. Seats were slightly wider and reclined a bit more, but that's about it. Food was similar. IFE was crude in comparison to the new system. If I'd paid 8 grand for this I'd be a bit miffed. LAX lounge was lovely though.

Air New Zealand review - by Mervyn Jones
9 March 2006

Have just returned from a round the world holiday/flights where I used 3 different airways. I felt Air New Zealand was the worst of the 3. I used them 4 times and felt their planes were dated, Large screens in the middle of the plane for the in flight movies which were not great, Food was below average and the staff about average. So I shall be looking for an alternative the next time.

Air New Zealand review - by Stanley Linkowski
9 March 2006

LHR-LAX new configured 747 in Business class upper deck. Never never again. Felt like I was on a table in an MRI machine. Could not turn or even move while sleeping, I am 6/4 tall. My elbows were sore from having to lean on the side walls. During the 10+hr trip I could only doze off and on for about two hours. The food was mediocre, the flight attendants were unattentive but the wines were superb. My lay down bed did not work, lucky I thought there was another seat available but the problem with side walls and layout were horrible. Hope no other airline goes to this configuration. Then having the economy section behind the Business/First class section with about 30 some people trying to use the bathrooms becomes a congested nightmare.

Air New Zealand review - by Ross Batchelor
28 February 2006

AKL-LAX Economy Class (old config). This flight was very pleasant however I found the food portions a bit small. Check-in was quick enough for economy class. The flight was delayed by about 25minutes but nothing too big. Cabin crew were excellent, got upgraded to Business Class for a few hours to sleep and then returned to Economy class. The food was tasty, but not enough to fill you up. Seat pitch was excellent and seat was comfortable. Arrival into LAX on time. I was very impressed with the cabin crew, who were polite and attentive, all with smiles throughout the 11 hour 15 mins flight.

Air New Zealand review - by Fraser Miller
18 February 2006

NRT-AKL Business Class . B767 - A full flight. Staff very friendly . Most impressed with Japanese announcements. Legroom fine - food not bad - wine excellent. Nothing was too much trouble. Baggage off early . A pleasant experience.

Air New Zealand review - by Peter Pomeranze
11 February 2006

Auckland-SFO Business CLass. Although it seems a little cramped the new business class is a good product. The seat is not wide but it does recline to a full flat position enabling sleep. The food is a little skimpy (no green salad) for international business but the flight attendants were attentive, polite and friendly. IFE was very good with many selections on demand. The only complaint is the boarding which is always an issue with this carrier. The scene at the gate is always a mob experience and Air NZ has never dealt with this issue effectively.

Air New Zealand review - by Antony Skipper
9 February 2006

MEL-AKL in economy. New B772ER. Light and roomy - 90% occupancy. Mostly male FA's, understated and efficient. Colour scheme beige, bland and no- name. Vastly improved IFE over old NZ offerings - LCD for each passenger (not supplemented by overhead screens). Economy meal was tiny - more like a takeaway burger than anything else. One needs to eat at the terminal before getting on one of these flights. No footrests, which can be uncomfortablek. IFE does not work for 1st half hour and last half hour, which on Tasman cuts severely into entertainment time possible. LCD's are not touch-screen. Phones on remote control do not work. IFE good, though not up to very best. In general a feeling of a beautiful plane that not been finished, and perhaps won't be. ANZ seems to want to be full-service and no-frills at the same time. However, these B772ER's are a vast improvement on the old planes.