I write on dooyoo.com under the name beckyX. Thanks for reading, I appreciate all the feedback and t...
I write on dooyoo.com under the name beckyX. Thanks for reading, I appreciate all the feedback and tips to improve my reviews
Member since:27.09.2009
Reviews:33
Members who trust:7
Air New Zealand are towards the upmarket end of the non-luxury airlines. Reliable and professional, they aren't by any means the cheapest, but the Economy class is comfortable, the service excellent and gets you where you need to go. Book well in advance for the cheapest fares - if you decide to go at the last minute like we did, it's pricy (around 1700 pounds if you book 2 weeks before you go).
When I went to New Zealand in April 2009, I flew economy class with Air New Zealand. Our route took us from Heathrow to Auckland via Hong Kong, with the return journey starting in Queenstown and a stopover in Los Angeles.
My first encounter with the staff was at the checkin desk in Heathrow. The staff there were polite and friendly. They had an additional member of staff in the queue verifying that we all knew about the new requirements for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) to make sure that we would be allowed through the US on our return trip.
On our outward trip, the in-flight staff were polite and helpful, though rather overworked, so it sometimes took a while if you needed assistance.
In flight, the seats were comfortable enough, though nothing particularly special. There was plenty of space for hand luggage. In economy, the 747s have a seat pitch (the distance from one back to the next) of 34", the 777/767s have a 32" pitch and other planes 30". Entertainment systems were fitted in the back of the seat in front and had a wide selection of films, television, music and games that could be watched on demand. I particularly liked that you could create a play list of your favourite songs from many different albums.
Luggage allowances are generous, but if you are going from Europe then my tip is to return via the US - luggage allowances are even higher when you go via the US (2 pieces totalling 46kg per person vs. 25kg per person if you fly via Hong Kong)
The in-flight food was tasty enough, though like most airline food nothing to write home about. They had a wide selection of special meals that could be ordered in advance (I had no idea there were so many different types of vegetarian - the list of options ranged from "regular" ovo-lacto veggie at one extreme to Jain or raw fruit at the other) Be warned about some of the special meals though - the so-called vegan meal for one of our party contained a portion of cheese in one meal and a container of milk in another, which doesn't inspire confidence that the rest of the meal is vegan! Like most other airlines, the special meals are delivered first, which is great if you are hungry, but bad news if you want to wait for everyone in your group to get their meal before starting (Tip: forget restaurant manners and just tuck in. You'll be waiting half an hour and your food will be cold otherwise!).
For our return flight, we were sat by the exit aisle next to the galley. This meant we got a lot of legroom, but at the expense of light and noise all night (take ear plugs and an eye mask!). Because these seats have the table in the armrest, they are quite a bit narrower. The jump seats for the stewardesses were opposite us, so we chatted to them and got given some excellent travel tips of places to go for the future.
When checking into our domestic flight on our way back, we asked as to whether we needed to pick up our luggage when we transferred to the international flight. We were assured that no worries, once we checked our bags in, we wouldn't see them again. Then came a big pause as he realised what he said by our hoots of laughter "Until you get to Heathrow, of course".
In conclusion, all the staff that we met were friendly and helpful in a very informal and laid-back way. I would use this airline again. The facilities were good enough, seats fine, food OK.
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Advantages: They are the only company flying to Rarotonga, regular flights, lots of destinations Disadvantages: Chining flight datescan be difficult due to their popularity and monopoly of australasia
Oct 12th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
