Air New Zealand

Visited the newly opened Air New Zealand international terminal lounge at Auckland. Judging from the poor reviews of the old lounge the refresh was overdue. The place had a clean modern look and was very appealing to walk into. Good drinks options and OK food selection. The food selection could be improved though, not up to the expected standards really. A good variety of seating selections, although I didn't see any sleeping area.

My partner and I flew All Nippon Airways in December in Premium Economy, entitling us to access this Air New Zealand lounge. It was clean, well patronised and had a very good selection of both food and beverages. The area was spacious, affording good views of the tarmac, with comfortable seating and USB sockets everywhere. The food selection in particular had various varieties of cheese and hors d'oeuvres, some hot meals and desserts and also some lighter snacks. I did not see a great selection at all of reading materials, magazines or newspapers, but it was Boxing Day evening. The boarding announcements were clear, with TV monitors also placed around the lounge. The reception desk at the entrance was staffed with friendly and warm personnel. My only gripe was that there was no dress code in place, and one young man was dressed extremely casually in a singlet and shorts.

Air New Zealand spent how many million on the new flagship AirNZ Lounge at Auckland Airport and didn't bother to organise for food option changes between lunch and dinnertime (same options for both meals - a real drag if you're stuck there for the day) or provide tea leaf and tea pots for a decent - non tea bag brew (coffee and alcohol options galore I might add)! Sure, there are plenty of different kinds of seating options and configurations of space, acoustically the space works pretty well with only really loud phone talkers audible across the tops of chairs and loungers and the staff were great, but come on - what gives with the menu?

Lovely, calm, comfortable Star Alliance lounge, an oasis of peace in LAX. There is a terrace with tables and chairs and a large lounge with soft settees/chairs and small tables, plus upholstered bench seating at raised tables. There are plenty of restrooms. There was a good range of quality food with hot and cold selections, including Chinese/Asian dishes and soup on a separate counter. There was a wide selection of beverages in the food area and a separate bar also serving tea/coffee. The lounge was clean and tidy with staff clearing away used dishes, polishing etc. Airline representatives manned the desk at the entrance to the lounge to help with onward travel administration. The staff were helpful and unobtrusive. All in all, a very pleasant experience.

I spent all day in this lounge on my trip from Canada to Perth and back and got to experience it from early morning to early evening. The showers were clean and well stocked and the food was amazing. There was lots of it and a wide variety of delicious restaurant quality items. Offerings changed at breakfast morning tea lunch afternoon tea and dinner and all were tasty and carefully presented. An onsite barista and an assortment of beverages made a long long layover a little more bearable. The only thing lacking was somewhere to recline and get some sleep.

I found the lounge to be excellent. The showers were clean and tidy seating comfortable. The snack food including gluten-free was excellent and main course was OK. Drinks excellent. The lounge was busy but not too crowded. Probably the only minus is the very loud and frequent airline announcements which make it difficult to speak on the phone.

Overall quite disappointing. The place is crowded dirty (trash on the floor seats are dirty dirty glasses and plates on many tables). The food selection is good if they have any (some offerings have been empty of 30 min now). No clean gasses for soda etc. Looks like they are trying to cut cost wherever possible. Wifi is incredibly slow.

The furniture is very worn but there are spaces to go to get away from the noise down one end. The toilets have a questionable aroma though and need an update with their chipped toilet seats. Food and drink selection is fairly basic but there is usually something to fill a snack gap before the flight. My favourite is the hotdog stand. Cleaning staff are diligent and clear dishes. It's better than sitting on a plastic chair at the gate.

I fly all the time and have been a Koru Club member for years. Things have deteriorated to the point where I feel compelled to write this review. I can only assume that there has been some serious cost cutting going on air Air NZ as the food served seems to mostly consist of whatever is cheap. It is rarely tasty or nutritious. Then theres the actual state of the lounges - they're increasingly threadbare. In fact it has got to the point where the actual airports public areas are often a better alternative. Air New Zealand has really gone downhill quite suddenly. It is a really sad thing to watch.

Thai Airways uses Air NZ's Koru lounge at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport. TG462 departs at 0030 and it is sad to relate that this excellent lounge has very little to offer the business class traveler at the end of the day. Eats such as they were consisted of a very tired salad bowl a few biscuits and a bowl of fruit salad. In the drinks department there was no chardonnay only Marlborough Sav/blanc in the white range and one brand of red (cab/sav). I have used this lounge on several occasions earlier in the day when it is sparkling clean with plenty of food and drinks choices. I got the impression that the staff just wanted the Thai travelers out of the lounge ASAP in order to close the facility for the day. In fact the whole of Tullamarine Airport at that late hour is a shambles. It was a highly disappointing experience.