Air New Zealand

I paid extra for priority seating for myself and two companions and received no "priority" whatsoever on both long haul flights from Auckland to San Francisco and back. Seating was incredibly cramped. What a waste of money.

Flew LHR to LAX and SFO-AKL-MEL. The staff on both the long haul legs were friendly and attentive. The PE seats on the 777-300 are far superior to those on the 777-200 but both have heaps of space. The food on all legs was really good and the NZ wines were excellent. I was offered (and accepted) single malt whisky which I thought pretty good. The overall service was far superior to both QF and CX (both of which were in Business Class) on our outward legs from MEL.

My flights were from Christchurch to Auckland return. I was reasonably happy with everything except the seating. On both flights I was allocated a middle seat with no choice of changing. The space between the seat rows has been reduced so much my knees are jammed into the seat in front and when the passenger in front also reclined their seat there is no space to move or read. The passengers on either side of my seat both claimed the arm rests and I had to continually jostle for space. On one flight the passenger in front was not asked to put their seat upright before landing. I used to enjoy flying but now dread the thought of it.

SIN-LAX-AKL. Really good trip although delayed 1 hour in Singapore's Changi Airport. All passengers got Vouchers for Burger King. Arriving at Auckland Airport I waited in the Air New Zealand Lounge clean and organized! It became one of the favourites of the trip.

AKL-LAX in Economy. Great to finally use the check-in machines at AKL for flights to N. America (now we just need online check-in). Efficient boarding and the dinner service was prompt after take-off which maximises sleep time. Dinner was a nice but salty corned beef. Seat is comfortable crew were professional but rather cold. Breakfast was fine - but I find most airlines breakfasts nasty so this is a plus. It'd be interesting to see what my opinion was if there was any competition on this route for NZ. But for a monopoly the experience was more than good enough.

I travelled from LHR via LAX to New Zealand on 10 Sep 2013 and returned to LHR the same way on 3 Oct 2013. I cannot praise Air New Zealand's service highly enough. Everything was perfect and in my opinion could not be faulted. A wonderful airline!

MEL-AKL Sep 2013 on 777. Business class overall generally what you'd expect but more expensive and not quite the experience of other trans-Tasman options. Herringbone seating comfortable enough but I am not a fan of the angled nature of it; window seats angled into the cabin making looking out of the window difficult. In-flight entertainment food and beverages and service competent but not outstanding. Air NZ lounge in Melbourne nothing to write home about no view other than the underside of docked aircraft and minimal food and drink.

Wonderful service accommodation and staff throughout my journey from LAX-AKL. The VIP lounges are excellent and well stocked and the Premier Business class seats are the best lay flat seats I've travelled in. Wonderful meals and wine selections too! Koru Club in AKL is huge and has plenty of room to stretch out and drink/eat.

AKL-LAX-AKL in September. Economy class outward and Business Class inward. My high rating reflects the stellar service and quality of the product in Business class its on a different planet to Economy Class. I snared an exit row seat at a $75 premium on the outward journey. There was plenty of leg room but the width of the seats seems like it is decreasing every time I'm on one of their 777-300's. Luckily I was on good terms with my neighbour. The night time trip down to the toilets is a nightmare having to manoeuvre your way through this obstacle course of legs blankets headphone cables in the aisles. I dread the day when the 747-400s are retired and the 777-300s are the only way to get to the US. Returning home in business class you were in a different world luxury space and privacy is the epitome of what this award winning airline does very well. The only thing that drops this review from a 10 to a 9 was the fiasco at LAX just before the plane departed when the ground crew decided everyone needed to have their cabin baggage weighed. It was a fiasco and yes I agree cabin baggage size and quantity needs to be monitored closely but the manner in which this exercise was performed at the departure gate in particular by one of the two ground staff it really was unprofessional.

LHR-LAX-AKL-LAX-LHR. First time flying Air NZ and was very impressed with the in-flight experience. Service excellent and lie flat seats on 777 were fabulous. Inflight entertainment has full TV series (not the one-off episodes provided by many other airlines). All in all I would recommend Air NZ. One small complaint is the transit through LAX (and therefore US customs/immigration). Would be improved by transiting through Vancouver or even Mexico City.