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Member since:03.11.2002
Reviews:23
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At the beginning of November 2 years ago, I had an opportunity for the trip of a lifetime – to visit New Zealand. My friend who lives in New Zealand invited me over to his wedding. However, the one part of the trip I was dreading was the flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, because it is a twelve-hour plane ride. Not only that, I had to fly to Los Angelas from Calgary (my hometown) which would take another 3 to 4 hours.
There were a few choices I could make as far as carriers went: United Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qantas and a few others were available. I hadn't really flown on Air New Zealand and because it was one of the cheaper airlines, I chose them.
Los Angeles to Auckland
I have just got to Los Angelas from Calgary onboard Air Canada. (I will have a review for Air Canada later.) Because I am a member of Aeroplan (Frequent Flyer Program), I was able to collect miles with Air New Zealand for they were with the Star Alliance. I boarded Flight 1 on November 1, 2000. This was my first time ever on a Boeing 747-400. The plane looked huge. The large aircraft made me feel more comfortable for it looked as if there was so much space. I found my seat, tossed all my stuff in the overhead compartment, and prepared to be squashed for twelve long, terrifying hours.
Well, my fears and expectations were sorely disappointed.
First and foremost, I sat down and had legroom. I’m not talking about room for my knees; rather, I’m talking about room for my legs. I could cross and uncross my legs in this seat without any problem. No, I wasn’t at an emergency exit row. No, I wasn’t in a bulkhead row. No, I wasn’t
in Business class or even First class. No, I wasn’t in the aisle. I had a seat in between the window and the aisle, and I could move my legs! I’m six feet tall, and I’ve never, ever been able to experience this kind of legroom in an airplane seat before.
Second of all, I could move my legs from side to side. My butt wasn’t wedged between the two armrests, and my shoulders weren’t hunched in a feeble attempt to not crowd my neighbors. I had room to spread out.
Third of all, the seat had a retractable footrest. While that may sound silly on the surface, I’ve got to tell you that it made the flight far more comfortable than you could imagine. With the footrest, I could raise my feet up off the floor a bit and at an angle, providing comfort and lack of exhaustion from sitting in the same position over and over.
Fourth of all, there was an adjustable headrest. While it didn’t move up or down, it did have “wings” on the left and right side, which meant if I fell asleep, I wouldn’t land on my neighbor’s shoulder.
Fifth of all, the crew was fantastic. I cannot give enough praise to the flight crew. Most of the crew were Kiwis (New Zealanders), so that had something to do with it, but these people went out of their way and bent over backwards to make sure everyone had a pleasant flight.
They came around with orange juice, coffee, water, and tea every few hours, always trying to keep everyone hydrated and happy. They would stop and chat with you just for the sake of chatting (and probably to pass the time for themselves as well). If you needed something, even in the middle of the night (it was a 7:40pm to 5:25am flight), they helped passengers with a smile on their faces.
We were served a snack, dinner and breakfast. All the food was very good for airline food, was served hot, and we were provided a choice of entrees. Alcohol was complimentary, and aside from the normal booze served on planes, we were also given a choice of several New Zealand wines, in both red and white versions.
The captain was very communicative with the passengers, always informing us of some upcoming change and doing it in a friendly manner. Instead of blurting out, “We’ve got turbulence, buckle up” it was said in a fashion that took awhile, and he took the time to explain he was going to fly lower in an attempt to avoid the turbulence, etc. This is probably a better way to explain to people that are first time flyers.
To help pass the time, we were treated to four movies and in between the movies, a few episodes of the show Friends. I didn’t watch all the movies, but I must say that they were relatively new releases (even Friends was from the prior season) and there were television screens every few feet so you didn’t have to squint to see the small screen.
We arrived 45 minutes early in Auckland. My luggage arrived unscathed and quickly so that we could head to New Zealand Customs and have our bags checked.
While I disembarked the plane tired, I was comfortable and very happy throughout.
Auckland to Nelson
After a two-hour layover in Auckland, our next flight was to Nelson. My friend would be waiting there. Flight number 8375 was on a Saab 340 Turboprop. The one thing I knew was that I don’t like small planes. They are usually more crampt and I find them uncomfortable.
It was a very windy day on November 3rd (we lost a day by crossing the International Date Line), and the plane was shifting side to side as it was taking off. We landed in the same fashion in Nelson.
While the flight itself on the Saab was uncomfortable, I think the crew did everything they could to make the trip a pleasant one. While the flight was a mere hour and fifteen minutes, we were served a full breakfast (that made two that day!) and the sole flight attendant was smiling the entire time. The captain and his first officer were also chatting to the passengers over the intercom, and that made the flight much more bearable for me.
We even landed fifteen minutes early, and again, my luggage came out unscathed and was delivered immediately.
On the return trip November 15th, I flew a Boeing 737 from Christchurch to Auckland. After the wedding, my friend showed me around New Zealand and dropped me off at Christchurch. We said our goodbyes and I was off. When I arrived at the ticket counter in Christchurch International Airport, the desk clerk was extremely friendly and took our luggage with a smile. She asked if we had a pleasant stay and asked if there was anything she could do for us while we were waiting for three hours at the terminal. That shocked me for many flights with different airlines offered the opposite.
Flight 536 took off right on time, and got us to Auckland ten minutes early. A smiling and accommodating flight crew served lunch (again with a choice of entrees), and again, the captain took the time to chat with the passengers and assured us the entire flight.
My experience flying Delta, Continental and United on their 737s have shown me that these airlines try to cram in as many people as possible in a plane. Air New Zealand, on the other hand, like on Flight 1, made sure that the passengers were happy and comfortable.
Auckland to Los Angeles
Strangely enough, this was scheduled to be an eleven-hour flight, versus twelve and three-quarters on Flight 1. I’m sure it had something to do with how the earth rotates versus being in the sky, but that’s physics, and there’s a reason my degree is in English.
Again, like Flight 1, Flight 6 was on a 747-400. We had the exact same seating position leaving Auckland as we did coming in, so Flight 6 was a true comparison to Flight 1’s experience.
The seating was equally comfortable, and unlike Flight 1, which was full, Flight 6 was about half-full, and it gave the opportunity to stretch out even more in the already comfortable seats. My travelling companion and I decided to keep the middle seat clear, she sat at the window and I got the aisle.
Like Flight 1, we were given a snack, dinner and breakfast. All the entrees came with a choice of dishes, and we were given a selection of New Zealand wines. Like Flight 1, the crew of Flight 6 took the time to talk to all the passengers and chitchat, took the time to make sure the flight was comfortable, and made sure all the passengers were hydrated with plenty of water, coffee, tea and orange juice.
We saw four movies and an episode of Suddenly Susan (a show I don’t watch), all of which were recent releases, none of which were shown on Flight 1.
Flight 6 arrived twenty minutes early, and the luggage came unscathed and quickly to the baggage claim area so that we could undergo U.S. Customs baggage check.
Overall Impressions
I can say that Air New Zealand went out of their way to make sure my flying experience was a good one, and for these four flights, they were. Air New Zealand seems far more interested in their reputation as a friendly and comfortable airline than does many other Airlines.
If there were more than five stars available for rating, then Air New Zealand would get all of them. Meanwhile, I’m stuck giving them only five.
If Air New Zealand is flying somewhere on your route, I would make every effort to book with them. Their prices are very comparable (in fact, they were cheaper than United and even Qantas) and you’ll see that flying New Zealand is truly flying the friendly skies.
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A nice review. As a kiwi living in the UK, Air New Zealand's our preferred carrier. BTW they are exceptionally helpful to people travelling with young children, and moved passengers away from where we were sitting so we could have extra space (and they could be away from the toddler!).
PhilS 10.11.2002 14:04
Great op. Very informing, especially about the extra spacing. Phil :)
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Nov 3rd, 2002
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