Air New Zealand Air Points - Air NZ PE on a 777 - is it really that bad?

Okay, so here I was getting all excited about flying PE for the first time (to Vancouver early next year), and I stumble upon your forums (which are awesome, btw), and all I read are vitriolic hatings upon the PE service on 777-200s! I am worried.

Yet I look on Air NZ's website, and even on a 777 it advertises a 40" seat pitch, which is impressive, along with business class food + beverage (plus cocktails!) and a DYI snack bar. What's there to complain about?!

So yes - should I be worried? Should I have sought out a 747 flight? Because reading posts that say "I would never pay for PE on a 777" kinda diminishes my PE-related excitement, haha.

Cheers yall :)

Yet I look on Air NZ's website, and even on a 777 it advertises a 40" seat pitch, which is impressive, along with business class food + beverage (plus cocktails!) and a DYI snack bar. What's there to complain about?!


Seat width is only 17.8 inches in 777 PE, same as in regular economy.

If you after legroom & service PE on the 772ER fine.

If you find the width of a normal Y seat tight, you may want to look at another service. Your trip will still be alot better in PE than Y class.


But then again this is coming from someone that finds NZ 733s comfortable :D

IMHO it's all a relativity issue, and entirely about 'cabin ambience'. The PE product on a 777 is certainly not all bad.

PE on a 777 vs Y on a 777? PE wins hands-down. PE on a 777 versus Y on any other NZ aircraft? Ditto. PE on NZ vs Y, PE, or even J on many domestic US airlines? Still gotta choose PE.

BUT. If it's money out of your own pocket and freedom to choose between an NZ 747 versus 777? A 747 gives you 3+2 seating upstairs and 2 'mini-cabins' of 4 rows of 2 downstairs, vs 4 rows of 3+3+3 on a 777. i.e. only 5 people in PE on a 747 might be unlucky enough to have a neighbour each side. 12 people get that on a 777. Everyone in PE on a 747 gets within a couple of seats of a window. 12 people on a 777 are between the aisles.

YMMV may vary about the importance of the cabin layout.

Otherwise everything is the same.

On a recent trip to Australia, I got the opportunity to try PE in both the 747 (LAX-AKL) and the 777 (AKL-SFO). On the 747, I was in the downstairs "mini-cabin", and I had a center-bulkhead aisle seat on the 777.

I was quite happy with both flights -- the service and food were significantly superior to United international C. AVOD IFE was good, although it did reboot itself once on the 777 (got to see that it runs on WinCE). Seat was good, not great -- pretty good recline, but I did not find the footrests useful. Personally, I did not really notice that much of a width difference between the 747 and 777 (but I fit easily into a standard Y seat). 747 mini-cabin was definitely cozier.

I think you'll be fine with the 777, but give the 747 a try if you have that option (although I do not think there are any NZ code shares that will get you down to LAX to catch the 747).

I’m with the OP. I’m about to book flights from AKL to SFO and return from LAX to AKL. Trying to justify the price increase from Y to PE – roughly $2000 total for two return ticks. Would appreciate more feedback whether the Food, beverages and seat pitch/leg room is worth the extra?

Going to be using the Top of the World Sale - the prices seem quite good.


thanks

If I could get PE for $1000 more than a "normal" Y fare I'd not hesitate....

In recent times the "delta" has been a lot more than that IIRC...

I too fit in a normal Y seat fine... but having said that I DO always at least try for the 747 flights...

As always it comes down to the balance between cost and benefit... and THAT is a REAL "YMMV" situation...;)

Having forgotten my manners once, welcome to FT to both rednz and Deity.

trooper has it right, the 'value' of an extra $1,000 is purely subjective.

For me, who already has check-in privileges via Koru, and would probably sleep 8 to 10 hours of a trans-Pacific flight even if I was leaning on the galley wall, I wouldn't spend $1,000 of my own leisure money on PE. I'd wait until I got wherever I was going and spend an extra $200 per night in a hotel for 5 days.

On the other hand, when flying for work I have and will happily continue to let my employer pay that difference!

Appreciate the comments - my Partner is a Koru member so we get the benefits of the lounge and priority check-ins already. Part of what is making my decision hard. :)

I'm assuming you have checked out the aircraft because it switches between the 747 and the 777.

I have no issue with the seat width on the 777 for me what matters is the leg room. My preference would be for the lower deck on the 747. The worst for me would be the upper deck of the 747. Being able to see people in the super comfy BP seats sleeping is seriously not very cool. Especially when you know how good it is and you are tired/sore from skiing everyday. For me its like showing a little kid the lollie jar but your not allowed any.


Having travelled across the pacific a couple times this year in all 3 classes its all pretty good. For me i can't justify shelling out my own money for a BP ticket because i would rather go away twice than once. However when it comes to purchasing a PE or Y ticket it all depends on the price difference between PE and Y. Often i purchase a ticket in PE oneway and Y the other. Then i use any points or upgrade vouchers to go up a class to PE or BP.

Hope that helps

I've flown HKG-LHR twice in PE, once on the B747, once on the B777. Upstairs on the B747 was great, loads of space, and a far more interesting aircraft than the B777 (3 mini cabins, stairs, etc). The B777 just has once PE cabin, with a regualr 3x3x3 in a 4 row layout (not so interesting). The main problem with the B777 seats is that whilst they have the same layout as economy (3x3x3, which I fit into fine) because the tray tables are kept in the arm rests, the actual space available in PE is LESS than in economy, and is quite tight. I spent most of the B777 flight with my remote control hanging into the aisle as everytime I move I changed channel. Having said that, the crew and food were brilliant on both flights.

Everyone has their own value formula, but for me, the calculation is whether or not the "upgrade" (or ability to travel in a C class) is > or < ~US$40 per hour. So, I'll "pay" ~US$480 for C class on a 12-hour flight, but not more. For PE, I'd set the bar at 1/2 that amount. US$240 or so, yes, but not more. I'd rather use that money for other personal items.

I haven't flown premier economy on the 777 yet (have flown economy and business premier on it though) but the main complaint seems to be that the seat width in PE is the same as economy. Myself being a tall person however, I'm more interested in the space between seats. If you're 5'2" though that wouldn't be much of a factor in the decision. And of course you don't have to feel guilty about reclining your seat onto someone's knee.

I have flown Premium Economy on the 777 and it is rubbish, worse than Economy class because of the armrests.

I now only ever book it in U class Premium Economy if I can immediately Confirmed Upgrade up to Business Premier. But to avoid 777 Premium Economy I have been known to fly to SFO via LAX to guarantee myself the 747 Premium Economy product.

The difference may only be one inch of width, but anyone of average build can tell the difference.

I'm assuming you have checked out the aircraft because it switches between the 747 and the 777.

I have no issue with the seat width on the 777 for me what matters is the leg room. My preference would be for the lower deck on the 747. The worst for me would be the upper deck of the 747. Being able to see people in the super comfy BP seats sleeping is seriously not very cool. Especially when you know how good it is and you are tired/sore from skiing everyday. For me its like showing a little kid the lollie jar but your not allowed any.


Believe me, it's also not cool getting up to see 20-odd people giving you the evils! LOL! It's quite un-nerving.

Having said that I do prefer the upper cabin as in my experience, it's always been much quieter.


between PE and Y. Often i purchase a ticket in PE oneway and Y the other. Then i use any points or upgrade vouchers to go up a class to PE or BP.


I think for anyone who is unsure about whether the difference between Y and Y+ (PE), they should purchase the PE ticket outbound and a Y inbound and judge for themselves.

I say PE outbound, because either way, at least you'll arrive somewhat more refreshed than if in Y.

Everyone has their own value formula, but for me, the calculation is whether or not the "upgrade" (or ability to travel in a C class) is > or < ~US$40 per hour. So, I'll "pay" ~US$480 for C class on a 12-hour flight, but not more. For PE, I'd set the bar at 1/2 that amount. US$240 or so, yes, but not more. I'd rather use that money for other personal items.
I guess you fly Y long haul all the time then.

is it worth standby upgrade of $A220 on the 777? I'm wondering if I should give up a window seat to likely get a middle seat PE. Not a lot of $ and I really never get to redeem $A anyway. That said, don't want to throw it away if the value isn't there.

if anyone wants ''unlimited'' leg room on 777 PE, choose 23 c or h, although some people might find it awake as you can see straight to C cabin and a big huge empty space in front of you might feel insecure.

is it worth standby upgrade of $A220 on the 777? I'm wondering if I should give up a window seat to likely get a middle seat PE. Not a lot of $ and I really never get to redeem $A anyway. That said, don't want to throw it away if the value isn't there.

i reckon it's worth the value. dont forget the ''airport treatments'' and additional benefits you get.
if you have enough A$, why not go for C?:p

I have never really given it much thought. It is a big jump in $A and I travel just enough to retain siver each year, which enables me to upgrade most of the time on the supersaver fares through the cert they give and the points earned. But I should give it a try one of these days! $A730 is a lot for 1 plane ride, I can do 3 E to PE upgrades for that.

I have never really given it much thought. It is a big jump in $A and I travel just enough to retain siver each year, which enables me to upgrade most of the time on the supersaver fares through the cert they give and the points earned. But I should give it a try one of these days! $A730 is a lot for 1 plane ride, I can do 3 E to PE upgrades for that.

it is a big jump! PE is good too.^ (better than Y). you get pretty much everything C gets just not the seats and lounge access.

Atr the moment airfares are roughly this for SYD-LAX, Economy can be found cheaper on certain days.

Economy $1000 one way
PE $2000 one way
J $3000 one way

I would go for J in an instant.

But to answer your question as long as you are not expecting a wider seat, PE on the 777 is OK.

I"m originating in Dunedin with tight connections across the board so I probably couldn't take advantage of lounge privileges. In fact, I still have a lounge guest pass but am saving for my next 8 hour layover in LAX! For some reason they will only codeshare the 8am from BOS-LAX, get in at 11am and wait 3 hours for Koru to open!