Air New Zealand

Return flight to UK with Air New Zealand after 10 day visit to California. This airline was chosen on cost (very attractive seat sale) but they were certainly not budget in the service provided. The outbound flight on 18th February and this return flight were very similar in quality. Two well timed meals, a more than adequate IFE system and very attentive cabin staff (despite a somewhat unaccommodating fellow passenger next to me) made my first long haul flight in 17 years quite pleasant.

Melbourne to Hawkes Bay, and Air condioning - absolutely freezing most of flight. Complained to air hostess who came back to report that the heating had been turned up. We as a party of 4 felt no difference even people in seats in front of us did not feel that the heating had been turned up. I have never felt so cold on a flight before and hope it doesnt happen again.

Brisbane to Los Angeles via Auckland and the flights were on time, ground staff average. The leg room is okay, but the 10 abreast seating is way too tight for such long flights. There are too many passengers crammed into the economy cabins, leaving very little space for cabin baggage in the overhead compartment. Service is nice but quite basic, no amenities offered or snacks. They need to be ordered via the app on the seat back TV. The meals were very small portions and meal trays with few options. The drinks selection was very good. PTV had many options. The flights were okay, but I couldn't recommend unless the price was substantially cheaper than other carriers. There are better options to the US.

Air New Zealand, NZ 282, Auckland to Singapore on the new B787-9. Self check in counter on ground didn't work very well, a nice staff came and helped us. Boarding was smooth. Safety video was creative. The IFE was excellent, big screen, sensitive, many movies with different languages subtitles. A point to mention was you could order food in the IFE, it was convenient for passengers. Crew were nice and helpful. Dinner and breakfast were provided. Food was ok however quantity was small. Flight landed in Singapore on time.

Overall good between Auckland and San Fransico but Air New Zealand has a policy of making you recheck your baggage at every flight segment and charge baggage fees for every flight segment if the entire connecting set of flights don't all have the same ticket number. All travel with ANZ, all tickets issued by them, it made no difference. We had also paid for and booked upgraded seats months in advance which we simply did not get on the return flight - no explanation, just bad news for us but as I said, other that good.

Queenstown to Auckland, and first time with Air New Zealand and impressed! The aircraft was new, with a nice interior. The safety video was fun and engaging. Cabin communications frequent and detailed. Hostesses were friendly. Some cheese and drinks offered, for a not long domestic flight it's appreciated. No individual screens, but some quizzes on the shared screens. A great experience, only a shame that due to geography AKL cannot be an international hub.

We made travel arrangements last July to travel from Sydney to Christchurch with Air New Zealand, we knew we would have bags but neglected to confirm prior to departure. Our email confirmation indicated baggage fees would apply but never in our wildest dreams did we expect to pay $160 (AUD) per bag at the airport. This was an international flight and quite often the cost of bags is no more than $50 per bag. We needed to check in online 120 minutes prior to departure but we didn't have internet access. The flight wasn't full but the agents were rude telling us that the airlines wanted to limit bags. Who goes on a 3 week adventure vacation in New Zealand without bags? Clothes and gear is paramount to this type of vacation and needless to say we spent thousands of dollars - not a great start to an amazing country by their airline. On the return flight after changing our reservation by phone and adding bags, they neglected to put our reservation change in computer and tried to charge us again. They wanted a printed confirmation, who carries a printer on vacation? Thankfully, we had an email confirmation. I would never recommend this airline.

A real mixed bag with Air New Zealand from Auckland to Shanghai, great flight with bad ground service. The trip got off to a couple of bad starts, I couldn't check in from Queenstown to Geneva since the tickets were not connnected, so I had to drag my luggage between the terminals in Auckland. Then when I tried to check in for Geneva from Auckland they would only check me in to Shanghai since apparently Air NZ can not check people in to transit Shanghai to Air China. This needs to be fixed since I spent 2 hours in queues to get out and back into the airport in Shanghai, I would never fly this route again because of this problem. The terminal walkway in Auckland really needs to be covered since it is frequently raining, it is a bit of a national disgrace that uncovered walkway, not a good way to great arriving tourists. Flying the Dreamliner made this longhaul flight more pleasant, the higher humidity and cabin pressure left me feeling less drained than usual. The entertainment system is excellent with gate to gate service and a good selection of movies. Most importantly the system does not have boxes under the seats making a lot more legroom available. I was lucky to get a sky couch row to myself since the plane was only half full and was able to have the full sky couch to myself for sleeping. Having a full sky couch was great for sleeping, but honestly I can't see how 2 or more people could share one unless they are very short/small people or children.

Tokyo Narita to Auckland on NZ94. Boarding was efficient. Impressed with both the dinner and breakfast served, however only one beverage run with meals and if one wanted a second drink it had to be ordered via the AVOD app. Same with coffee and tea. Crew varied from jovial to sullen. Seat not the most comfortable but as I move around the cabin often this was not too big an issue. Excellent selecton of entertainment. Overall happy with the flight and would fly this route with Air New Zealand again.

Singapore to Auckland, my first time taking Air New Zealand and definitely last time. The baggage policy for international flights is silly. While I respect the weight allowance of 23kg, it is ridiculous to restrict to 1 bag per pax even if total of 2 bags is still within weight allowance. Ground crew claimed to have no discretion to bend the rules though the flight was rather empty. For those who are travelling for golf or other sports, would be wise not to take this airline.