Air New Zealand

✅ Trip Verified | Apia to Auckland. It is a pleasure to fly with this airline. The aircraft made a newer, clean and modern impression. The crew was friendly, had time for small talk and was extremely helpful. The on-board catering met higher standards and drinks were served several times and in sufficient quantities. A large number of films and music rounded off this very good flight. No questions, the flight was in time.

✅ Trip Verified | Auckland to Los Angeles. I have three issues with this operation. First of all, in the departure lounge, they had two gates line up in a queue that had to be 100 meters long, and at no time was anyone in the queue fully confidant that they were in the correct one, also no one was advising us as to what was going on. Secondly, they went and changed our already selected seat assignments which were two aisle seats to an aisle and a center seat. Thirdly, these seats are by far the most uncomfortable seats on any aircraft that I've flown for more than an hour. The seats are so tight that it's a joke, also the leg room is almost non-existent. The seating on Ryanair that I flew a while back was vastly superior. In addition to the above, I was totally unable to eat the meal they provided as the seat back of the person in front of you restricts access to it, that was probably a blessing for me as the meal looked as though it would not be good for you. Would certainly not recommend sitting on this airline to anyone, unless it was an emergency.

✅ Trip Verified | Sydney to Queenstown. Air New Zealand might be a decent airline if they went full-service instead of budget. Their staff and admin are fine, check in was very fast and staff are generally nice. The seats in the plane were a striking black and they were thicker and comfier than most budget airlines, but then you notice all the places they cut costs. The rest of the fit out shook terribly and was probably very cheap. I knew my ticket didn’t include food but I didn’t know they’d want me to pay $10 to watch a movie (on a trans-Tasman flight, you’ll only be able to watch one movie). They use remote stands at Sydney airport, which also involve the most crowded and disorganised gates. A notable issue was that all of the cabin crew were overweight, with two of them so wide that they could not walk down the aisle without bumping into passengers - I was in an aisle seat and did not appreciate this. On the outbound leg, they were cheaper than Qantas, but on the return they were the same price, so I’m very happy that I booked Qantas for the return.

✅ Trip Verified | Christchurch to Sydney return in Works Deluxe. Both flights departed on time and both arrived early. Outbound flight all promised elements provided. Wine quality was pretty hideous. No second round of drinks offered. Beef casserole was tasteless and very small. Bag arrived promptly. In bound flight-no premium check-in provided, again chose the beef casserole - again, very small and tasteless; again wine selection poor. CSM sought out elite members and made nice with them, ignored other passengers (this is standard in my experience on Air New Zealand). Bag very slow in appearing. On the whole, for their premium product on A320 it was utterly underwhelming. Just as well that I was paying with APD.

✅ Trip Verified | I was very eager to try Air New Zealand during my recent trip to Tahiti. It was my first time in their Premiim Economy cabin. A flight attendant introduced herself to passengers on board and explained the features on the seat. Meal service was done business class style - the entree and dessert are served on a tray and the main course followed. The seat was upholstered with leather and had a very good recline and pitch. I was very impressed by the cheerfulness and enthusiasm of the flight attendants on board. Despite the AKL-PPT-AKL turnaround route being a tiring long red-eye flight, they remained at their very best throughout the 5-hour flight attending to and anticipating passengers’ needs. At Auckland Airport, Premium Economy passengers had a dedicated check-in lounge shared with business class. Luggage was tagged as priority and priority boarding was also accorded to Premium Economy passengers. Air New Zealand’s Premium Economy product definitely punches above its weight.

✅ Verified Review | Despite reserving this flight from Melbourne to Christchurch via Virgin I got the code-share equivalent of Air NZ's "The Works". Couldn't have been happier! It placed me on seat 1D and the service was one of the most caring and generous: Flight attendant helped me to raise the IFE screen whenever they saw me trying They even reserved overhead locker space for my row's bags They even wanted to help me put my case into it. Every 20min a flight attendant would ask if anyone needs water. The only regrets were narrow the seat width and seat pocket. Also disconcerting was the frequent turbulence - descent was rough.

✅ Verified Review | Long-haul flight with Air New Zealand from Auckland to Singapore. The plane was new and the cabin interior appealing. The seat was comfortable, which allowed me to get some sleep. The cabin staff were – as always with Air NZ – extremely friendly and accommodating. I had ordered a Vegetarian special meal, and the food was very tasty, even though the quantity was rather limited. Furthermore, Air NZ did not offer a bar during the flight, which I found rather unusual for such a long distance. Overall, however, it was a pleasant experience.

✅ Verified Review | Very poor experience on a flight from Sydney to Auckland. The flight was scheduled to arrive on Sunday, shortly before midnight; we actually arrived on Monday night at around 7.30pm with an almost 20-hour delay. The positive side was that the airline personnel was always friendly despite the situation. The negative side was the underwhelming information policy. We were informed about the cancellation of the flight at around 10pm after having spent almost six hours at the airport even though the reasons for the cancellation (late incoming flight because of technical difficulties, impossibility to return because of nighttime curfew at Sydney airport) should have been clear much earlier. After several instances of queuing, we were checked in at the hotel, which the airline provided to us, by 1AM. The buses picked us up the next morning at 7AM. We had been told that the flight would leave at 10.30AM. When we arrived at the airport, we were told that the flight would not leave before 11.40AM, which was gradually pushed back for incomprehensible reasons to 2.30pm. People were often waiting at the gate at the (newly) announced boarding time, without anything happening and without getting any information about the further delay. It seems that Air New Zealand really needs to work on their protocol in such situations. That you have delays because of technical difficulties happens now and then, but I never had a similarly disorganised experience in the past.

✅ Verified Review | Wellington to Sydney. They have very good flight time at 10:15 am which arrives at noon in Sydney. The best part is what they called Work Deluxe, which is more like a premium economy on other airlines. The small single-aisled air craft has 3x3 seating and no business class. Work + Bag and Work deluxe is almost like their "Business class", with the front 3 rows of seats used for that, with a middle seat blocked (guaranteed) to create a bit more space between passengers. For work deluxe they give bottled water, noise canceling headphone, landing form with free pen, a free meal, free drinks including alcohol. Priority baggage and brooding too. I find the whole thing even better than I had expected, the service was great too! I had a problem with self check-in, the staffs at the airport were very helpful and courteous. One would have to pay premium price , easily 3 times more that what I had paid, to get that on their competitors like Qantas, which only uses a small 737, but they do have a business class installed. I really see a lot of value for money here, as confirmed by my seat mate, who is a regular on that route.

✅ Verified Review | Auckland to Christchurch. Air NZ shares code with Singapore Airlines and even for a combined itenery Air Nz is too lazy to pass the check in baggage with partner airlines. I had to manually take my check in luggage and check in again on my further way to Singapore with just layover time of 1.5 hr. On top of it, Air NZ staff at Auckland reception desk at domestic terminal is too blunt and rude that I have done a mistake by buying Air NZ ticket. She told me that if I will show attitute then she would call her boss, while I just got frustrated, attitude is a word when you raise your voice and start getting angry. she has more power like she was suffering there. Ugly and useless people are hired by Air Nz in customer service like answering prisoners committing crime buyong their ticket. Last time with Air NZ, better is even Jetstar.