Air New Zealand

✅ Trip Verified | I am flying to Hokitika from Christchurch and return mostly every week for the last 10 months for my work. Air New Zealand had cancelled or delayed flights so many times with out any apologies or warning due to various reasons and I had to take leave from work for no-show. Every time I go to the airport and come back. Last Sunday I waited at home expecting a cancellation notice as my Air New Zealand web browser was not updating the flight status. I checked in and arrived at the gate 10 minutes prior to the departure gate but the staff didn't allow me to board. Flight was still there and the status was in the final call. They forced me to buy a new ticket for the next day with a few giggle in their face.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Perth to Wellington via Auckland, premium economy to Auckland, economy to Wellington leaving Perth on Feb 1st. Perth-Auckland sector on leased EVA Air 777 due to unscheduled engine maintenance and 787’s. Seat comfortable and premium economy pretty empty. Stuck on the ground in Perth due to plane having no satellite connection to Auckland so having to get new flight path sent manually to Perth airport, printed and brought onto plane. Approx 90 minutes stuck on ground waiting for this. Cabin staff pretty old and not particularly friendly, wasn’t offered a water during the delay. Flight itself was fine, dinner was delicious. Despite pretty empty premium economy call bell not answered 90% of the time, I know it’s not business class but would have expected better service, maybe they knew I was only there through an accepted upgrade bid. Cabin crew generally pretty quite passive aggressive, didn’t seem to enjoy their job anymore. Maybe time to move on. Arrived in Auckland with 35 minutes before my flight to Wellington departed, on mentioning this to purser got a curt response that there would be another flight in an hour anyway so what was the big deal. Ground staff in Auckland refreshingly friendly and helpful on putting me on next flight to Wellington. This short flight was pretty unremarkable, no complaints with it. Overall a comfortable journey but attitude of staff on Perth to Auckland very unsatisfactory.

✅ Trip Verified | Melbourne to Los Angeles via Auckland. The check-in staff at the Melbourne airport was new and inexperienced and took over 1 and a half hours to check our bags in. There were no complications. We did not have excess luggage. Our US visas were in order. We did not get the seats we booked 6 months in advance. We wanted to sit together but the system has changed our seats. Now we weren't sitting together. When we boarded our flight from MEL to AKL it was an old Singapore Airlines B777-200 aircraft with Singapore Airlines furniture but old and dirty. There were many things missing like food, menu card etc. The cabin crew thought it was okay and it was funny. They were cracking jokes and laughing the whole time when we who paid a lot of money did not find it funny at all! The AKL-LAX and LAX-AKL-MEL sectors were good. Awesome free wifi on all these sectors except the MEL-AKL flight. The cabin crew were friendly and attentive. Food was average. The amenity kit was good. Entertainment system was above average. Flights were on time. The pursers came up to me and thanked me and wished me a pleasant stay at the end of all the flights. The cabin crew who served came up to me introduced themselves and welcomed me at the beginning of all the flights. The Air New Zealand lounges were lovely and clean and the food was good except the Star Alliance Lounge in LAX. It was so crowded and busy like a fish market and the food was disgusting.

✅ Trip Verified | Auckland to Queenstown. Arrived early, 3 flights before mine and they wouldn't let me fly early. Was invited to check in and told to go the the Koru lounge, that I pay a membership for, I was told I couldn't enter as I was too early. Checked my bags as top load, fragile and they told me to sign away their liability for damages because my ukulele was in there. Have spoken with 3 different staff, they all had varying opinions and they all failed me in customer service today.

✅ Trip Verified | Christchurch to Auckland. Very disappointed in experience with Air New Zealand! Was charged $200 for extra checked bag after carry on bag was weighed- I’ve never had my carry-on weighed. It was the right dimensions. Had a panic of repacking in the airport, threw away a bunch of stuff, then couldn’t find the very rude workers who had held our boarding passes for ransom - had to get new ones printed from another rude, impatient worker. We were not told that overnight flight (over 8 hrs in air) we would not be served food, including snack or even juice. I understand if that is the ticket that I bought (which I didn’t know because travel agent didn’t know this was how ANZ does things)- but a clarification before getting on the plane would have been very helpful. Never have I had an overnight flight that didn’t at least throw me a bag of pretzels and some juice. I felt like a second class citizen. No entertainment available without hefty price. I will never fly ANZ again.

✅ Trip Verified | Christchurch to Vancouver via Auckland. Air New Zealand lost my luggage for four days they offered me no service at all. I had to phone them all the time for instructions of retrieving my luggage and to get status updates. Besides that, in my luggage was all my camping gear, so without this gear I could not go camping as planned and had to stay in more expensive accommodation. Also I could not provide my own meals as planned, but had to go to a restaurant. Air Nz offered a total of 200 NZD compensation, in stead of the 700 NZD I had for extra cost. After complaining about this, Air NZ stated that this is business as usual and that by flying with them you agree with these terms. These circumstances made our holidays in NZ have a bad start. But also for this fact Air NZ didn't offer any compensation. But the errors by Air NZ continued when flying with them back to Vancouver from Auckland. In Christchurch an employee of Air NZ stated we had to re-checkin our checked in luggage. In the airplane the flight attendants stated whe didn't have to pick up the luggage en re-check it in. When asking another employee of Air NZ about this (just to be sure) he stated we did need to re-checkin our checked in luggage. So we went through customs and to the luggage belt to pick up our luggage, but our luggage did not come. Asking another employee of Air NZ about this, she said we didn't have to pick it up: so we went through customs for nothing.. thank you Air NZ for wasting our time again.

✅ Trip Verified | Brisbane to Papeete via Auckland. Absolutely disgusted with Air New Zealand, I have flights booked from Brisbane to Papeete this Friday that were originally landing at 7am, now landing at 12.30am and originally departing at 9am, now departing at 2am. So I now have to book two extra nights accommodation and there were no alternative flights either day each side of my flights. Air New Zealand have basically said too bad, zero compensation, no free accommodation for those nights, no meal tickets, nothing. I don't see how an airline can change flight times so drastically and you just have to deal with it. Yes I could get a refund, but then I lose all my accommodation and no other airlines fly to Tahiti from Australia. Won't be flying with them again.

✅ Trip Verified | Tauranga to Perth via Auckland. Having traveled PER - NZ return 6 monthly for nearly 10 yrs, I can comment with confidence about the experience. I have always found AirNZ staff extremely helpful, and resourceful in dealing with issues, most recently with 2017 urgent repairs/aircraft replacement due to the 787 engine issues, when I was given a 500-airpoint bonus as compensation. This was fair and much appreciated. This year, the same aircraft replacement issue occurred - no points bonus but the replacement craft was so comfortable my partner and I enjoyed the flight. The herringbone seats aren't great for communication when travelling with others, but no worse than Qantas Business suites in this regard, although AirNZ are a bit more cramped. Catering on flights and in lounges is great and puts Qantas to shame, so overall, value for money is excellent, when compared with comparative mileage flights - Air NZ definitely wins. The Airpoints program is very restrictive compared to Qantas - eg my partner receives no points for the return trip from NZ (fully paid) having flown out on points. Outrageously unfair. The app is great, though.

✅ Trip Verified | Buenos Aires to Sydney via Auckland. My flight was cancelled in the last minute, really poor customer service and they don’t keep their promises. Hours in the phone trying to solve a problem but still haven’t had a solution from them. Won’t be flying with Air New Zealand again.

✅ Trip Verified | Buenos Aires to Brisbane via Auckland. The crew service and the food were great as we have come to expect from air NZ but the herringbone seat layout means you are disconnected from your travelling companion. And whatever possesed them to dumb down the safety video with brain deadening rap? We had travelled with them quite a few times a few years ago so we found the changes quite disappointing.