Air New Zealand

Flew from Honolulu to Auckland. Paid a small fee for a preferred bulkhead seat. It was one of the most uncomfortable seats I have flown. No space to extend my legs (I flew bulkhead many times before but the seat has never been so close to the wall) and since they installed the control for the entertainment system inside the arm rest it was also extremely narrow. I am 6"2 and athletic. I can't imagine what this seat would be like for an overweight. When I complained to the flight attendant she said 'at least nobody is going to recline their seat'. I was aware of that and I believe that was the whole point of paying extra. Additional issues: the plane looked so old it was sad only one suitcase to check in even on an international flight food was less than mediocre. I would definitely fly Hawaiian airlines on my next trip. On top of all this I did not get any mileage credit on united on my return flight. I did get it on the way there so it was not the type of ticket.

Travelled from London to Auckland. Having lived in London for the last 11 years I was on a flight moving back to New Zealand permanently. Flew with Singapore Airlines on SQ317 from London to Singapore and had excellent service the whole way. The flight attendants were friendly food was served quickly and was delicious trays were removed quickly and we were constantly provided refreshments. At the beginning of the flight my sister was having problems with her entertainment console so the attendant offered to re-boot the system. it was done immediately and they checked after a couple of minutes that it was working. It happened a couple of times during the flights so the attendant gave her a voucher to use towards a duty free item which was a very kind gesture. However our onwards flight from Singapore to Auckland was extremely disappointing and one of the worst long haul flights I have been on. Most of the flight attendants were very friendly (I did hear one tell a traveller that they couldn't fix their console as they were about to serve food which seemed very unhelpful) however their service was extremely lacking. Shortly after taking off we discovered that our entertainment consoles were not working properly but either continually freezing or losing sound. We pressed the buzzer for a flight attendant but after waiting 10 mins and watching them walk past us a couple of times we had to ask them in person for assistance. Rather than offer to re-boot the consoles as Singapore Airlines had done we were informed that they had been aware of the problem in Singapore but were unable to fix it until they got to Auckland. For a passenger on a 9 hour flight who has already travelled on a 12 hour flight just beforehand this was very disappointing news. We were both transferred to other seats (seated separately) however the cabin was so cold further forward that I ended up returning to my original seat. The service and quality of the food was also very disappointing. The chicken dinner we were served was very salty and the breakfast omelette was rubbery. The chicken sausage accompanying it was inedible. The attendants were also extremely slow with clearing the trays in comparison to Singapore Airlines. My sister is has Gold airpoints status so we had priority labels on our luggage however we were one of the last to get our luggage upon arrival in Auckland. Overall it was an extremely disappointing and frustrating flight. Like others who have placed reviews recently I will be very hesitant to fly Air New Zealand internationally in the future.

I flew from Auckland to Brisbane and back Feb 13-18 2015. The first flight was uneventful. The 2nd flight or return was awful. I think Air NZ has gone downhill. My tray table was direct and had juice marks or sticky stuff on it. There was dirt below the armrest. The row in front of me had chewing gum on the seats. My inflight entertainment did not work at all for the entire flight despite being reset twice. There was no ice on board and ran out apparently - sometime I do not believe that. Overall a lousy airline.

AKL-LAX as part of a longer journey to Europe. First time in Economy on the 777-300. Cramming an extra seat in each row was a huge mistake: I was in the aisle seat and everyone including crew kept whomping me. If I wasn't using sleeping tablets to knock me out there is no way I could've slept in that seat. Meals were good and the crew were as well. As soon as NZ has competition on flights to the West coast they will bleed business. And I'm Airports Gold.

We arrived at Wellington airport on 1st March 2015 for our return flight at about 1pm for flight NZ849 due to depart at 3.45 pm with a check-in time of 2.15 pm. We had booked and paid for this flight on 14th August 2014. Normal check-in procedures did not work and we were advised that the flight had a weight problem and we should check back at 2.30. We advised that we would miss a medical appointment made 4 months previously if we did not catch the flight. When we checked back we were advised that we could not go as the plane had a weight issue. Our luggage was not weighed at any time prior to this and was about half of the allowed weight. If the issue really was one of weight then Air New Zealand is obviously incapable of flying with the baggage allowances that it has set and if passengers with half that allowance are denied access to a flight booked over 6 months previously then they should look at a fairer way of deciding exactly who they will allow on planes. It would seem that this was just an excuse and I strongly suspect that the real issue was that Air New Zealand had over-booked the flight and the issue was one of seating on the plane. If this is indeed the case then it would have been better to have been told this from the outset instead of being jerked around by being told to return at 2.30 pm. Air New Zealand did arrange for alternative travel the next day and they did arrange for overnight accommodation with meals (but no drinks at all including non-alcoholic drinks and the meal allowance for dinner was only sufficient for the main course without either entree or dessert). They also provided both of us with $300 travel vouchers with them but we feel that being lied to and treated in a shoddy manner once by a company is unfortunate: to give that company the opportunity of doing it again is stupidity.

Flew Auckland to Heathrow on 23/02/2015 in PE in Space Seats these are great seats you are in your own space no one can recline into your space. Entertainment very good and staff between Auckland and LA were brilliant they could not do enough for you and were always making sure you had everything you needed I wish I could say the same for those between LA and Heathrow who were absent from the cabin for a large amount of the time and did not have any real interface with the passengers. I ordered a coffee in the early hours and this was delivered promptly but I still had the cup over 2 hours later as the staff were absent from the cabin not very good service. Those staff on the Heathrow leg could learn a lot from those on the Auckland leg.

2 weeks ago my husband and I went to New Zealand. For years we travelled with Air Canada or Air New Zealand and this last time we made a big mistake and decided to fly with United. We prolonged our arrival to Auckland by a few good hours but we would co-op with these extra hours had it not be for the awful time on the flight to and from Auckland. The disrespect and disregard to it's passengers is shameful. There is no room for peoples' legs. This is a very long flight and airlines need to consider peoples' health as well. The food was awful. Cold and not edible. The flight attendants were beyond rude. I was shocked when 2 of them who could not decide if the liquid in the pots are tea or coffee simply removed the lids and put their noses in. People stared in disbelief. However when we got to Sydney Australia we embarked on an Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. What a huge difference. All of the sudden we could stretch our legs. The food was edible and the flying attendants were courteous. Going back home to Canada the experience repeated itself. We flew Air New Zealand to Sydney and everything was good and then hell repeated itself when we had to embark Untied from Sydney to Canada. My husband and I decided that never again will we fly United. Our son who was wiser flew Air New Zealand and he mocked us for choosing United. They are bad news to the rest of the carriers on star alliance. Life is a school and we learned our lesson the hard way.

I flew from Tokyo Narita to Auckland (767-300) then Wellington to Auckland (A320) and finally Auckland back to Tokyo (787-900). Both international flights were just average. Little things like lack of in-flight magazine plastic cutlery minimal updates from the flight deck and lack of menu bugged me. The service on the old and tired 767 was significantly lower than that on the 787. The touch screen on the 767 was not very responsive at all. I was very impressed with the in-seat bar service on the 787. At the touch of a button you could order a drink or snack from the comfort of your seat and it would be served to you within minutes. The international check in at Auckland Airport was a complete shambles with queues everywhere and a lack of order. I also don't understand why you can't check in online if you booked through a 3rd party travel agent. All other airlines allow this why not Air New Zealand? The domestic flight was excellent. For just a short 45 min flight we were treated very well with excellent service (cheese and biscuits wine and soft drinks). The pilots also kept us fully informed on the progress of the flight. All in all Air New Zealand is fine but the international service needs improving. I guess I was just expecting something more from the so called Kiwi hospitality.

Flew from Queenstown NZ to MEL on NZ837 in economy. Hadn't flown on Air NZ for 10 years and we were keen to see if all the hype around their new "experience" was justified so we paid extra and got "the works". We departed on time and arrived 20 minutes early. The amount of legroom in the A320 was a positive revelation as was the extent and content of offerings provided on the in-flight entertainment system. The meal was fine without being exceptional and the crew was terrific. It really was a pleasure to fly. Thumbs up to Air NZ based on this flight!

Myself and my daughter received a one up upgrade to Business from Premium Economy San Francisco to Auckland 14th February. We were delighted about this however we soon wished we had stayed in Premium Economy as the cabin crew were extremely unfriendly and gave the impression that it was beneath them to attend to us. They rushed the meal service and hardly spoke to anyone and as for a smile forget it! The only upside to the upgrade was the lie flat bed I am pleased that we didn't pay full price for this appalling service. Next time we will be staying in Premium Economy which was excellent.