Air New Zealand

Business Class LAX to Auckland and return. Food is marginal at best. They served a hamburger! Awful. Staff not very helpful or friendly. Seats are not that good. Lie flat is cramped and overheated and not comfortable. Nothing good to say about this airline. I thought US airlines couldn't hack it internationally. Never again.

Just flew from LAX to AKL on ANZ in business class. It is what business class should be like. Very attentive staff although the food is getting a bit downgraded and staff at the LAX lounge are just okay I think the majority of staff are now subcontractors so do not have the Kiwi values except for long term staff. Air NZ needs to be careful not to try and squeeze out too much profit yet is still offers one of the best business classes in the field. Just fly UAL from Sydney and see how they have not really upped their game. I wish they would match AirNZ.

Bought a two week Rarotonga/Aitutaki trip first class hotels business class airfare outbound had OBE problems had to move seats food was mediocre seats old and not comfortable for J class overnight seating. Arrival arrangements went well inter-island travel was challenging because of Air New Zealand's confusing docs re luggage weight allowances. On return day AIT to RAR ANZ pilot took ill so we were forced to layover a night in Raro. After waiting over 4 hours at Raro airport for ANZ staff to appear ANZ proved totally inattentive to our needs making us wait in the dark literally and then they refused to pay for our dinner that night (we ate it too early 7pm) and staff didn't arrive at airport until 9pm) when we knew well before ANZ staff appeared at the airport that we needed to eat because there would be no "on-board" service that evening. A horrible experience no follow up save your money and book your own trip/hotels through Fiji.

My husband and I flew San Francisco to Auckland NZ 7 on 30th March. Flight delayed due to an electrical fault due to board at 7.45pm but were eventually seated at 10.15e. Then informed that the paperwork required to had not been produced and waited a further 1 hour 45 mins this at least gave the pilot time to reboot the entertainment units which weren't working. We had purchased seats with extra leg room which had the entertainment units folded into the seat frame. We were aware that the units would have to be folded away during take off and as the system required rebooting we entertained ourselves by reading. As the safety instruction began a stewardess suddenly snapped at us to "please pay attention to the safety video" which she only then seemed to realise we hadn't accessed. My husband however was quite happy to follow the video right up to the point where you're asked to check if you've turned all your electrical equipment to flight mode. It was at this point that the stewardess roundly set upon him as he as per instruction checked his iPod. It was demanded that he turn it off immediately followed by a barked demand to know if he'd done so. This set the tone for the rest of the flight. At no stage before or during our flight did we say or do anything to warrant this sort of attitude. Also my husbands entertainment systems kept cutting out during the flight. I'd like to say that the ground staff who rescheduled our connecting flight and the members of that crew were great.

AKL-PER in the 3x3x3 configuration. As regular Perth trippers (like 25 over 20 years) it was one of the most uncomfortable disappointing trips we have experienced. One needs to be almost a contortionist to extricate oneself for toilet visits due to 2 things. One is the closeness of the seat in front when it is reclined coupled with the fact that the intermediate arm rest will not lift high enough to get around comfortably but having achieved that one still has to negotiate around the aisle arm rest which would not lift at all! My wife and I are not high body-mass people! Food quality was definitely not up to previous standards. Trying to play a favourite CD became a rather user/unfriendly mission and when I did get it it was punctuated and disjointed. On disembarking we eyed the PE seats with new interest and are contemplating an upgrade on our return but it shouldn't have to be like that. We get the feeling that passenger comfort/satisfaction in the standard economy class has been compromised by the extreme pressure the airline is under to return a satisfactory performance to the shareholders. We remain loyal to our own airline but are seriously questioning the cost.

NZ288 from Shanghai to Auckland on B777-200 in Business Class seats 3A and 3B - very good comfort in sleeping in case of flat bed seating comfort good. Staff very friendly and professional. Catering - not really a positive surprise perhaps in case of the Shanghai route hard oriented to Chinese food and not New Zealand. However if you're booked on the 777 it's ok if the flight is operated on the 767-300 - forget it ! The flight back from Auckland to Shanghai (12 hours) was really poor on the very narrow recliner seats of the old 767´s.

ANZ 289 from Auckland to Shanghai - this time on Boeing 767-300 in Business Class. Seat 2A and 2B. Seat quality - poor as the seats are too narrow! The monitors are stored in the middle armrest that leads to a very small seat less felt wide as in ECO. Recliner would be ok but the width is very poor for a 12 hours flight in Business Class! Team great food - in case of the Shanghai trip very "Chinese oriented" and not typical for ANZ hopefully. So if the flight is done by a 767-300 - avoid! The 777-200 seat quality is much better.

We travelled from Auckland to San Francisco on Air New Zealand's 747. This was a non stop flight and although the food and service were ok only the entertainment system was extremely disappointing. It was antiquated - limited movies music games and news. The push button hand control needed extra pressure going over. On the return flight it was not possible to get any music at all. The system was rebooted (nothing); I was taken to two other seats (still no music). Compared to Emirates' flights this experience with Air NZ was extremely disappointing.

NZ8 AKL to SFO departure was delayed as the air conditioning wasn't working on the ground when we got on the plane was still warm. Video system was not working so attendant suggested using middle seat screen but aisle seat passenger had to use it as his audio was not working. After waiting 30 mins turns out it was working but no one bothered to advise me it had been reset. Crew couldn't turn down overhead lights after meal and surprisingly comment cards never appeared for feedback. Sent an email 5 days ago & no response. 747 looked worn out.

I have travelled on a number of occasions from Melbourne to Christchurch and have much admired the unique qualities of that experience as an introduction to NZ. On the last occasion this was on a code sharing flight with Virgin. The experience reversed my previous appreciation of the introduction to NZ. The best of NZ Airlines seems to have been undermined by the worst of Virgin. I watched an Air NZ ground staff member stand by and instruct my wife to load her weighty suitcase on to the luggage belt before I could intervene. My wife had spent the previous two days undergoing heart check ups. Furthermore I was impressed to note the speed with which the ground staff requested an extra 80 dollars for an extra bag when it was reasonably evident that the extra bag could have been packed into the non-extra one. Please note that the comment rating relates to the experience in the code sharing flight with Virgin.