Air New Zealand

✅ Verified Review | Flew Wellington to Hong Kong via Auckland. Due to the Auckland airport fuel crisis (damaged pipes) the plane had to stopover in Australia to refuel fully (as many other airlines did). During the stopover which delayed the flight about 45 minutes on arrival the crew were very good, constantly offering water, coffee, tea and light snacks as we were not allowed to exit the aircraft. In the air the meal options were very good and were good for both majorities on board (Hong Kong Citizens and New Zealand Citizens) with Asian and European style meals available to suit everybody. The inflight entertainment was good, but it was still the same from when I flew to Sydney in April and July, making it hard to find something I would like that I hadn't already watched. Boarding was prompt and everything was done in an orderly fashion. Crew were extremely friendly and did their absolute best to make sure everybody was seen to in the entire flight. Would definitely recommend Air New Zealand for long haul travel.

✅ Verified Review | Light and shadow on this Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Melbourne. The outbound trip was on a B77W, the inbound trip on an A320. Like many airlines today, Air New Zealand offers different fare options where you either have only carry-on luggage, a checked bag or checked-bag, meals and movies. I chose the basic option without even a checked bag. You still get a decent amount of free water, tea and coffee on the flight and can make use of the non-movie part of the IFE, in particular their great music selection. One further downside of the two most basic fare options is that Air NZ requires you to pay for choosing your seat even at check-in, which gives the experience a low-cost feel. If you do not pay, the system chooses a seat for you. The seat pitch on the B777 was decent, the pitch on the A320 very tight for a 3 1/2 hours flight. At least, I was lucky that I had an aisle seat on the latter flight. One element that was consistently excellent throughout the two flights was the service of the cabin crew.

✅ Verified Review | Los Angeles to London return. Paid extra for the Premium Economy seats. When boarded appalled that had to turn sideways down the aisle. From a safety standpoint I don't know how this is allowed, because in an emergency there is no room for rendering medical aid or even to evacuate properly. The aisle narrowness also proved a problem later when I tried to sleep (I am a thin lady and don't spill over seat sides) and I was constantly banged into by crew and passengers going down the aisle. The seats are narrow and uncomfortable, the premium seats have a leg rest below the seat that lifts up and provides no comfort other than take away more space and leg room. These seats would only work if there are two family members of small stature seated in the three seat row by themselves otherwise they are useless. As it was my knees were up against the front seat and if the passenger in front reclines their seat you can't eat off your tray and well you feel crushed. On the flight back my seat recline button was broken and I couldn't sleep. The passenger in front of my mother reclined their seat after they had served coffee and it went all over her clothes and ruined them. I have been on budget flights such as Ryan Air and been more comfortable. This is unacceptable for a long haul flight costing as much or more than other airlines in this category. I flew Air New Zealand 7 years ago and it was the best airline I had ever flown and recommended them to everyone. It was the only reason I chose them again and I wish I read the reviews on this site before booking them over Virgin Atlantic or British Airways. I will never fly Air New Zealand again or recommend them to anyone. Look at the photos I have attached and you can see for yourself. I feel sorry for the crew having to work in such cramped quarters and especially for the passengers who were continuing on to Auckland. Oh and there is a feature on the inflight entertainment that allows you to order snacks drinks from your seat. This feature was only ever activated for a period of 30 minutes on each flight. I think this was done on purpose by the flight attendants due to having to navigate up and down those ridiculous aisles. Shame on you Air New Zealand. How far you have fallen from the top.

✅ Verified Review | Brisbane to Auckland. This flight was short due to the strong tail wind, 2 hours 20 minutes. The food and wine were so good you wanted the flight to be longer. We were the last to check in, the staff member at check in was Ok but basically looked like he wanted the experience to be over. Lounge in BNE was fine but morning tea type food so didn't eat anything. On board the service was great, very personal from the first moment on board. The wine selection was superb and the meal itself really enjoyable. Didn't use IFE other than to listen to music on take off and landing but looked fine. Bags were about a 3 minute wait on arrival at AKL. A long queue to depart customs but were still in a cab before the original time that the plane was due to land. All in all a great flight.

✅ Verified Review | Auckland to Sydney with Air New Zealand. The trip started off with the Premium Check In area, which did not seem premium in any way because all I saw was the Ground Crew just directing people, not actually checking passengers into their flights. After the security, I gave the Lounge a visit and enjoyed breakfast. Boarding time did not match the boarding pass, with priority boarding not enforced which meant passengers were all over the place. A very warm welcome by the Cabin Crew once onboard with a welcome drink on offer straight away. I decided to have a second breakfast once airborne and the food selection was very good. From what I observed, I find the crew very engaging, hospitable and friendly which was a big difference from my recent trips with Virgin and Qantas. The flight had slight turbulence, with a smooth landing into Sydney. Looking forward to another trip with this great airline.

✅ Verified Review | Great flying by fine pilots - no turbulence / bumpiness felt at all till descent. IFE amazing - great music lists and other interesting stuff. Having USB charger plus spacious seat pocket and traditional remote control is great. Old plane but interior refurbishment made it sparkle. Overall very clean - bathroom more spacious than other airlines and even had sprayed scents! Friendly crew were great.

✅ Verified Review | I first flew on Air New Zealand in 1986 when I moved to New Zealand. I do not expect the service and amenities to be the same now as then but am disappointed on how bare-bones they are now. For instance: on a 14+ hour flight from Auckland to Houston there is no snack, beverage or even water served until the meal about two hours into the flight. I know snacks are not about nourishment but to alleviate boredom and make it seem as though something is happening. I can't verify it but I'm sure the meal trays are shrinking. Dinner, while usually good, was appalling. Some sort of mystery chicken chunks with a spicy sauce and rice. Breakfast (I chose the fruit option) was only one muffin, one container of yoghurt and a measly fruit plate including—in the height of the USA's growing season—two slices of canned peaches! That was it as far as food went. I did go to the galley to get a cookie in the night. During the long night a flight attendant came by with water only once. I have restless legs and don't sleep for more than an hour or two at a time and even then very lightly so it wasn't that I missed the water coming around. That was okay with me though as I brought my own 2 liters of water as I won't drink water stored in tanks on aircraft's. I've flown round trip on a Air New Zealand long haul flights on average twice every three years for thirty years. My previous flight to the US was on American Airlines in May 2017, also in economy. I wasn't expecting much but was happily surprised. They still gave out hot towels after takeoff and one other time (I forgot when, maybe before breakfast) they also gave out snacks and a beverage after takeoff and all water was from sealed water bottles. They had lots of different snacks in the galley during the night, not just small Cookie Time cookies and some sort of chips. I still like Air New Zealand for domestic flights and will fly with them if the price is right. I tried to "one up" to premium economy but my bid wasn't high enough. I feel it is a safe airline and that's the most important thing but 14+ hours is a long time. The in seat entertainment is great, I watched four movies as well as reading an e-book. I gave a 4 rating for value for money because safety is the most important thing and crew were pleasant.

✅ Verified Review | Christchurch to Wellington. As a New Zealand Citizen I can say I have zero bias in this topic. My last flight with Air NZ was cancelled with no prior email notice and resulted in me having to wait a number of hours for the next flight. It was a small 2:2 domestic flight (around 1 hour air time) leaving on a clear night however cancelled without notice. When I asked the ticket staff they were unable to give me a reason as to why the flight was cancelled. This is purely theory however It is likely that they cancelled the earlier flight due to the fact that the passengers of my original flight and of the one I ended up taking could have fit in one plane. Although this is a smart business decision (cutting costs for the same gain) it is a betrayal of customer trust and time. Not only was I not given a reson for the cancel but was too given no notification of it until reaching the airport. To top off the night the plane I was switched to ended up leaving atleast 20 min late. All this in comparison to the fact that it was a simple domestic flight is disappointing.

✅ Verified Review | Noumea to Napier via Auckland. Paid an extra $350.00 for movies on the plane and one food option - says drinks provided but only get two, probably a total value of $35.00. Landed in Auckland and Napier flight cancelled due to an engineering problem and have to wait 13 hours for another flight. 2 flights were cancelled at the same time due to weather issues, why would you not use one of these planes to fly to Napier instead? All in all a disappointing experience with the staff acting blunt and rude to the customers I saw in line and myself rather then sorry and genuine.

✅ Verified Review | Auckland to Hi Chi Minh City. I fly with Air New Zealand a lot. The more I fly the less they care. I am not getting my star alliance status points. And have spent many hours on the phone. Why does this matter. I should be gold. But have been denied this. I paid for koru to get the status I should have. But am still not getting the status. Or even the perks I have paid for. 800 bucks still not getting lounge access or priority boarding or priority luggage. The call centre actually makes me suicidal. This is not a joke. The ground based care is shameful.