Air New Zealand

AKL-CHC 19 Dec A320. Self service check in bag drop security boarding all uneventful. Seat comfortable enough and FAs smiling friendly seemingly enjoying themselves. We were offered tea coffee or water and choice of a (yes one) biscuit or a little bag of cassava chippies. I don't mind if Air NZ wants to be cheap or save money but I'd like the option to get something a bit better than that even if I have to pay. Some years ago I regularly flew with Air NZ WLG-AKL and they used to provide a full cooked breakfast and substantial snacks during the rest of the day . Disappointed with the change. Toilet was spotless but nothing else was. Bulkheads arm rest seat back seat all filthy. Noting has been dusted for an age let alone wiped down. Gross. We hit turbulence en route and gratefully the pilot managed to drop us down below it. Baggage misdirected at CHC so took almost an hour to retrieve it. Ground staff were aware of this but surprisingly didn't bother to tell anyone we had to go find them. Little competition appears to not have done anyone any favours and so will have to fly them again. Oh well. Word of caution...Always use the NZ website to book flights. When Iwent to book my multi drop NZ itinerary on their UK website only the full fat (most expensive) fare was offered. I switched to the NZ site and saved several hundred dollars.

NZ 879 CHC-OOL A320. Paid for "works". Awful (dry) food which lack any imagination water served in plastic cups no inflight magazine no sick bags no head phones so had to wait for them to arrive before I could use the entertainment system. The entertainment system had very limited selection of movies scrolling between screens was slow to navigate and the whole thing seemed counter-intuitive. When on Emirates you get an entertainment guide/magazine which allows you to view the selection of movies at a glance with Air NZ you need to slowly scroll through each page of movies. Hostesses rather than being professional were trying to be too friendly/familiar - the "kiwi" way does not automatically equate to being professional. Really poor work Air NZ regret using you.

Air New Zealand may well win awards for international services but the customer care when dealing with people when flights are cancelled on domestic routes leaves a lot to be desired. Our flight to New Plymouth was unable to land due to low cloud and we returned to Auckland we were told there would no more flights that day and we were rebooked on an early morning flight there was no offer of accommodation or alternative ground transport despite a lot requests for a coach to be laid on we were left at 7pm in Auckland airport with nowhere to stay no offer of any assistance whatsoever. This is the problem when you have a monopoly on regional air services take it or leave it.

Flew HKG-AKL-CHC then AKL-YVR with Air NZ as part of a round-the-world itinerary. Their service is second-to-none even in economy. One of the flights was on a refitted B777-200ER and although narrower the new-style seat was very comfortable and I slept well in it.

NZ734 BNE-AKL 5 Nov 14. Seat only flight good on time good crew IFE fine but no laptop power and buy on board food is poor. I usually fly QF but their plane was full and this was the best bet but it wasn't cheap. While unbundling is sensible the inability to get a decent meal is not. The only way to get a meal is to buy the Works which is not economic for a hand luggage only or day trip passenger. Air NZ is not an LCC so shouldn't act like one. It can do better.

4th Nov NZ 175. We flew from Auckland to Perth in the excellent new Dreamliner - what a plane! The seats were the best business class seats we have had the pleasure of traveling in so far. The entertainment system was superb and very easy to use. The food was 5 star restaurant quality and as usual great friendly staff. We were amazed to how great we felt after a 7 hour flight and the hostess said that is because of the cabin pressure in the new Dreamliners we have had no jet lag and slipped into Perth time straight away. Can't wait for our return flight home!

12/10 NZ135 AKL-BNE. A disappointing Business Class experience. Whilst the cabin and seats were nice the staff attitude was poor - surly and pretentious attitude that revolves around them rather than the passenger. Distasteful bragging about wining various airline awards - but with little evidence of such justification. Offered champagne at 09.30 in the morning was inappropriate followed by food that was inedible. All in all poor value for money in comparison to other airlines that offer a far superior attentive service.

I flew LHR-LAX and LAX-LHR with my daughter in rows 36H an 36J (preferred seating). I booked Air New Zealand as a result of the good price I got (£518 return) but the experience was such that I would definitely use them on this route instead of Virgin or BA. The food and wine selection was better than most airline food I have eaten except perhaps Turkish Airlines. The aircraft on the outward journey was only 2 weeks old and immaculate. The returning flight was in Lord of the Rings Livery and was also a pretty new aircraft. Upon first glance the seats seem quite narrow but sometimes looks deceive and I found the seating very comfortable. I accept that I had no seat in front of me but my daughter who had a seat in front of her was pretty comfortable despite being quite tall. The only negative with the Boeing 777-300 in this layout is the very narrow aisle but it's not a deal breaker for me. However the best thing about Air New Zealand were the staff friendly helpful and professional on both legs of the flight.

MEL-WEL-CHC-MEL. One of the best economy class trips - smooth and efficient. Arrived in Wellington early. Staff really good. Surprisingly the Airbus 320 was very comfortable. No food if you are on a budget air-ticket. Highly recommended.

We booked an infant fare with Air NZ for a flight from Auckland to London and had to pay an extra $100 each leg to access a bassinet seat. The infant fare also doesn't include checked luggage which meant we had to spend another $155 each leg for 23kgs of luggage. Compare this to Qantas where both the 'extras' of the bassinet seat and 23kgs luggage were included as part of the fare. Overall we had to spend $255 extra on each leg for an infant to travel on top of a relatively high base fare. When I discussed this with AirNZ customer service they indicated the cabin luggage limit of 7kgs should be perfectly fine for travelling long haul with an infant obviously never travelled with a child. Very disappointed with Air NZ's approach to infant travel as well as the response of the customer service representative.