Air New Zealand

AKL to SFO 777 300ER. Great flight with a very friendly and efficient cabin crew. Food was extremely good and nicely presented. Aircraft was fairly new clean with comfortable flat beds. A very enjoyable flight. This was a vastly better experience than our next leg with British Airways.

YVR to AKL 777-200ER. Another excellent flight with Air New Zealand. The cabin crew were great and made the flight very enjoyable. Food was great and nicely presented. The aircraft was fairly old but was clean and everything worked as it should. The entertainment system could do with an upgrade to content performance and display quality. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Vancouver that Air New Zealand uses is quite poor.

I was on Flight 791 from Auckland to Adelaide it left at 8am on the 9th September the cabin crew were exceptional in their help to me and my partner she had a pinched nerve in her spine and they were brilliant in their attitude. I will always fly New Zealand in the future.

Over the past few months I have done long haul return flights in Premium Economy on Qantas Cathay and British Airways and Business Class on Singapore Airlines. I was flying from Sydney to San Francisco (via Auckland and LA) and the flight segment yesterday in Air New Zealand Premium Economy (space seats) from Auckland to Los Angeles was vastly better than all the other airline's Premium Economy. The seats are wonderfully designed spacious and comfortable with ample surrounding space. I loved the large pillow and even got a second one for extra comfort. In fact (even though the seats don't lie flat) the whole premium economy cabin with mood lighting and great layout looked better than the business class cabin. The toilet area was huge always spotless and I loved the whimsical 'bookcase'! The amenity pack was welcome with Clarins creams and cute stripy socks and eye mask with funny message on it. The entertainment selection (with noise cancelling headphones) was huge - really something for everyone - and a big screen with multiple angles for comfortable viewing. The service from 2 male flight attendants was outstanding and the meals were absolutely delicious by any (not just airline) standard. I think the food is the same as in Business Class - for dinner I had figs olives and proscuiito as a starter salmon in a crust with bean puree and spinach lemon tart camomile tea and chocolates (with sparkling wine and NZ Shiraz) breakfast was muesli with yoghurt cheese and mushroom omelette with tomato concasse coffee etc. I have often flown business and first class on other airlines - I can honestly say that if I could fly to all the destination I need to go on Air NZ Premium Economy (space seats) it would always be my first choice. A superb product.

Flew SYD-AKL-LAX and return in August/September 2014. SYD-AKL was on the new 787 Dreamliner. Was excellent for the short trip although had to move to Economy for take off and landing due to no seat belt extension onboard. The IFE is new and much quicker to respond than the older style. It is more an app-style interface which was easier to use and less clunky. AKL-LAX was same reliable service from Air NZ. Helpful efficient mature staff with excellent food and comfortable seat/bed. Amenity pack is cheap and nasty compared with days past and no pyjamas compared with other airlines at the same or cheaper price point. Lounge in Auckland is good but always crowded lounge in Sydney is worn and needs a furniture update but still perfectly fine to kill the hours before your flight. Lounge staff in LAX are not up to the usual Air NZ standard but the drink selection is good the air- conditioning is cold and the food selection though limited is enough to satisfy for a snack. The showers were not up to the standard of lounges such as Virgin Atlantic and even Swiss International but ok to freshen up before the flight. The 777-300 packs a lot of people into Business class and the staff do seem to take longer than previously. The 767 seats in business are absolutely abysmal and even with the best will in the world I find it impossible to say anything good about them. Overall Air NZ is a very good airline with good staff great food and innovative product. The sooner they lose their 767 business seat the better though. Also if you're planning onward travel in USA do it yourself. There are so many better options available than the alliance offered by Air NZ with United.

Beware! This airline can change seats on you suddenly and you find out at the airport. I had a confirmed seat on a long-haul flight (AKL-HKG) and the seat that was allocated to me on my booking was given to someone else. No explanation just a bunch of lies. This could be a real problem if you are travelling with your family and all of a sudden can find out that you are all over the place. Also I tried to check in online but this airline does not allow you to do so if your ticket was issued by a travel agent (which business tickets often are). Apparently you have to purchase directly through them online in order to use the online check-in service. Had a long argument with their web support guy who couldn't seem to understand why this is so rotten. He just defended what they do This is a beautiful country with great people. They need to do something about their national airline though!

30-31st August. I was meant to have flown with Air New Zealand from Los Angeles to Heathrow but they ran out of seats and over booked the flights. So I'm now leaving a day later. I was quite upset to have been told there were not enough seats for me but the compensation came as a surprise. They offered me night over in a hotel with dinner lunch and breakfast included and to top it off cash to keep me going. So I'm very thankful for that and very impressed in the way they handled the situation. I have been guaranteed a seat on the same flight but a day later.

Auckland to Vancouver. Elderly travellers in their 80's. Premium economy in aircraft that I would guess is over 20 years old. Old square style seats with hard edges and absolutely no padding. I had a seat that was either up or fully down no adjustments. TV so much static could not watch. Seat no wider than normal economy. Footrest moved only a bit. Premium economy in my opinion not worth the extra money. As of to date we still have to go home next week Dreading this painful event. Tried to request quote to upgrade to business class. Several emails sent asking for assistance and only received generic emails with no answers. Got quote by phoning NZ $1700 per person. We can't afford it. So we will remember the final international flight - but not in a good way. I will finish by saying that Sydney to Auckland sector on the new dream liner was excellent (in economy). Recommendation is "better options out there for the money".

Flew from Auckland to Vancouver. It was a tired old plane and the movie selection was pretty tired also. Food was ok but a second cup of tea was hard to obtain. The cabin was clean. The seat was adequate. Crew members were amiable. The guy in the aisle seat had no where else to put his long legs he seemed about 6 foot six inches tall except in the aisle which was not good for anybody. It was part of a round the world fare and did not seem great value to me. Next time I will check a direct flight to LHR our final destination and side trips from there.

AKL to Apia return on NZ 992/991 for a four day trip travelling only with hand luggage. Web checked the first flight and went straight to lounge prior to boarding. Lounge busy but kept clear of passengers used dishes. Good selection of food available lounge attendants efficient as was the barista in making me a great macchiato! Flights themselves were generally excellent. Crew friendly and efficient both ways. Not much to say about return flight as leaves Apia at 0150hrs arriving 0500hrs but had a whole row to stretch out in to sleep. Early arrival home and outside terminal in 10 minutes after landing. Excellent value for money. Look forward to me next trip.