Felix Unger
Oct 30, 03, 10:31 am
I am not much of a fan of Y class travel, especially on 6500 mile flights with 36 hours on the ground. I had nothing in my bag of tricks to upgrade an Air New Zealand flight, however. I had heard their eonomy service was quite good, so I thought I would risk it. It was actually a pleasant experience, for reasons both predictable and serendipitous.
26 October LAX-AKL 43D, 29 Oct AKL-LAX 59D
My original plan was to be in 59A, at the back of the plane, on both flights. At check-in, I found that 59B had been taken, so requested and was moved to a middle section row with a seat next to me open. I had the exact same experience on my return. By the way, *Gold uses the dedicated check in facility at AKL airport, and it is really nice. In addition to dedicated ticketing, it speeds you through a special dedicated immigration officer when your ticketing is complete.
As a *Gold, I went to the shared ANZ Lounge in LAX, which was as it always has been... full of people, with mininal refreshments. Of little value, except for a quick cold drink.
On the return, the AKL Koru Club was as wonderful as ever, with far more food than I had ever seen before. The mid afternoon cheese trays (with superb NZ cheeses) also had sun dried tomato rolls and other small savories, plus cookies. It was replaced at 4 with hot dishes and salads, including beef croquettes, shaved leg ham, mushroom and balsamic salad, and quite a bit more. It was truly outstanding, and entirely possible to make a full meal out of the choices.
Seating
Boarding was orderly, *Gold was allowed to board with business/first, and I was well pleased by the great job ANZ did in setting up economy class seating. Pitch is 34", and you can feel it... the space felt similar to mainline UA flights in first class, though in reality it was a bit shorter. But it felt spacious. Part of this is because of the novel design of the seats themselves. They are actually thinner than any other economy class seats I have seen... only about 3 inches deep along the vertical axis. When you recline, the bottom cushion lifts and tilts back as the vertical cushion tilts, creating an illusion of more recline than there actually is. The headrest doesn't move, but wings do move in to provide support for the head during sleep. Each seat had a pillow and blanket atop them. From a width standpoint, the seats were more comfortable than any economy seats I have experienced except Midwest Express. I would estimate them at 18.5" wide, and even with the armrest down, I was comfortable enough (as a wider person). With no one next to me (fires in SoCal caused many connecting customers to miss their flight) I was good to go.
On the return, I made my four seat section into a flat bed after dinner, and managed 4-5 hours of excellent sleep. The seatrests move fully out of the way, and the seatbottoms are countoured in such a way as to require only an extra blanket to smooth over the cushions.
Meals
The food was a cut above economy class fare I have previously experienced.
Outbound Lunch
Beef Lasagne- A large portion, about 12 ounces(Other choice Chicken Thigh)
Salad with orange pieces in a vinigrette
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine, including a very passable NZ Sauv Blanc.
Outbound Dinner
Perch Fillet- Also a large portion
Parsley Potatoes
Feta Cheese Salad
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine
Attendants made several passes for beverages, including coffee, tea, and the open bar. During the flight, they came by about every 40 minutes with either juice or water.
Inbound Dinner
Beef in Cabernet Sauvignon sauce- Again a large portion. Quality not quite as good as the outbound, but still adequate. Other choice Chicken Leg Moroccan.
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans and Carrots
Salad
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine
Inbound Breakfast
French Toast and Syrup (other choice scrambled eggs)
Bacon
Yogurt
Muesli cereal and Milk
Orange Juice
Roll and butter (sweet raisin roll)
Cheese and cracker
I was so impressed by the seats and food service in general that I thought several times what a waste of miles it would have been to upgrade to business in an economy section that was not full.
In a full airplane, of course, this would be a different story. In the past, I have flown ANZ in First, on award tickets, and I was truly dreading what these flights might have been like in economy. But I came away from my travel feeling that Air New Zealand clearly cares about the Pacific Class (Economy) experience. I can only give them kudos for making 24 hours of flight in a three day period not just survivable, but pleasant.
And special thanks to AirNZboy here on FT, who answered a number of questions for me prior to the trip.
26 October LAX-AKL 43D, 29 Oct AKL-LAX 59D
My original plan was to be in 59A, at the back of the plane, on both flights. At check-in, I found that 59B had been taken, so requested and was moved to a middle section row with a seat next to me open. I had the exact same experience on my return. By the way, *Gold uses the dedicated check in facility at AKL airport, and it is really nice. In addition to dedicated ticketing, it speeds you through a special dedicated immigration officer when your ticketing is complete.
As a *Gold, I went to the shared ANZ Lounge in LAX, which was as it always has been... full of people, with mininal refreshments. Of little value, except for a quick cold drink.
On the return, the AKL Koru Club was as wonderful as ever, with far more food than I had ever seen before. The mid afternoon cheese trays (with superb NZ cheeses) also had sun dried tomato rolls and other small savories, plus cookies. It was replaced at 4 with hot dishes and salads, including beef croquettes, shaved leg ham, mushroom and balsamic salad, and quite a bit more. It was truly outstanding, and entirely possible to make a full meal out of the choices.
Seating
Boarding was orderly, *Gold was allowed to board with business/first, and I was well pleased by the great job ANZ did in setting up economy class seating. Pitch is 34", and you can feel it... the space felt similar to mainline UA flights in first class, though in reality it was a bit shorter. But it felt spacious. Part of this is because of the novel design of the seats themselves. They are actually thinner than any other economy class seats I have seen... only about 3 inches deep along the vertical axis. When you recline, the bottom cushion lifts and tilts back as the vertical cushion tilts, creating an illusion of more recline than there actually is. The headrest doesn't move, but wings do move in to provide support for the head during sleep. Each seat had a pillow and blanket atop them. From a width standpoint, the seats were more comfortable than any economy seats I have experienced except Midwest Express. I would estimate them at 18.5" wide, and even with the armrest down, I was comfortable enough (as a wider person). With no one next to me (fires in SoCal caused many connecting customers to miss their flight) I was good to go.
On the return, I made my four seat section into a flat bed after dinner, and managed 4-5 hours of excellent sleep. The seatrests move fully out of the way, and the seatbottoms are countoured in such a way as to require only an extra blanket to smooth over the cushions.
Meals
The food was a cut above economy class fare I have previously experienced.
Outbound Lunch
Beef Lasagne- A large portion, about 12 ounces(Other choice Chicken Thigh)
Salad with orange pieces in a vinigrette
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine, including a very passable NZ Sauv Blanc.
Outbound Dinner
Perch Fillet- Also a large portion
Parsley Potatoes
Feta Cheese Salad
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine
Attendants made several passes for beverages, including coffee, tea, and the open bar. During the flight, they came by about every 40 minutes with either juice or water.
Inbound Dinner
Beef in Cabernet Sauvignon sauce- Again a large portion. Quality not quite as good as the outbound, but still adequate. Other choice Chicken Leg Moroccan.
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans and Carrots
Salad
Roll and Butter
Cheese and Cracker
Dessert Cake
Complimentary beer and wine
Inbound Breakfast
French Toast and Syrup (other choice scrambled eggs)
Bacon
Yogurt
Muesli cereal and Milk
Orange Juice
Roll and butter (sweet raisin roll)
Cheese and cracker
I was so impressed by the seats and food service in general that I thought several times what a waste of miles it would have been to upgrade to business in an economy section that was not full.
In a full airplane, of course, this would be a different story. In the past, I have flown ANZ in First, on award tickets, and I was truly dreading what these flights might have been like in economy. But I came away from my travel feeling that Air New Zealand clearly cares about the Pacific Class (Economy) experience. I can only give them kudos for making 24 hours of flight in a three day period not just survivable, but pleasant.
And special thanks to AirNZboy here on FT, who answered a number of questions for me prior to the trip.