Air New Zealand Air Points - Trip report - NZ1 and NZ5 in F

I flew NZ1 on 8/12 (LHR-LAX) and NZ5 on 20/12 (LAX-AKL), both times in F. Sadly, I can only rate the trips 5/10 and will not waste money to fly NZ in F again.

Sorry about the break - PC issues.

The flight from LHR was half full (6/12) while the flight from LAX was two thirds (8/12). The flight attendants were fine on both trips, but a little bit hit and miss - all were friendly, but some were not very proactive in offering drinks etc (eg we had to ask for the complementary toy and meals for our infant son on both flights).

Drinks were excellent (Dom Perignon 1995, Cloudy Bay etc) but meals were surprisingly average - the LHR to LAX flight I was sick (bad timing) and didn't eat anyway, but my wife said the venison was poor. From LAX to AKL there was an excellent taco soup but nothing else of note. The meal service was static and there was no personal choice - you could only eat what they offered when they offered it.

My main gripe was the cabin - after enjoying the suites on BA I knew the seats on NZ would be a step down, but I was disappointed at how much of a step down it was - I am 6 foot 5 and found the seats to be uncomfortable, with the leg rest useless (I didn't have a bag to prop under it) and the lumbar support poor. The inflight entertainment was also poor with only a limited selection of DVDs (perhaps 20 at most).

Next time I fly NZ (and there still will be a next time) I will stick to C and save my money. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just the information I was looking for. Or should I say confirmation. I have a award ticket reservation made using UA points. I thought the F award was a little too easy to get. F on NZ was a dump three years ago and it sounds like it still is. Off to cancel that award. Thanks

Guess I'll find out for myself. I've got flights booked in F (award) next week. Will report back when I get back. Since I'm doing the trip regardless, I decided I'd rather do F than C (although sigh - I will miss UA's sleeper suites).

Edited to add: found this when I did a search for something else - compares J & F.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum7/HTML/000541.html

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Sharon

[This message has been edited by SkiAdcock (edited Jan 03, 2004).]

I recently upgraded on NZ to F AKL-LAX and vv. The step up from C was definitely worth it to me. I could do a trip report while its still fresh in my mind, if anyone's interested.

KiwiFlyer, certainly do a trip report if you have the time. It's helpful for folk when they're trying to decide whether to go C or F to get first-hand experience, and as we've seen on this thread, there have been mixed, so the more reports the better. Cheers.

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Sharon

This is disappointing to read, especially that the service and food was only adequate - they are usually such strengths of NZ. I'll be very interested to see what the upcoming revamp of the long-haul product will bring...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Kiwi Flyer:
I could do a trip report while its still fresh in my mind, if anyone's interested.</font>

Yes please!

OK, trip report here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/004245.html).

Thanks! I'm impressed by how quickly you produced that lengthy trip report - that would have taken me six months! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Well, I just tried clicking on his link & alas, the trip report seems to have disappeared (probably in the transition to the new FT).

I know you thought I forgot about doing mine. However, I sat down yest & started writing again my trip report & my hope is to have it done by Sunday night Calif time. It's LONG (and I'll probably have to break it into 2 threads as I hear there's a character limit on posts). My trip report deals w/ ANZ but also w/ my trip to NZ overall.

I still have to write some more, but I'm also waiting to hear from MrStarAlliance on some names of places I went when visiting w/ him & his family. Dave, if you see this thread, check your lynx email.

Edited to add: Ok, I actually finished it tonight other than the stuff I'm waiting to hear from David on.

SkiAdcock, thoroughly looking forward to reading your report!

You can find Kiwi Flyer's excellent report here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182293

It's a real nuisance that all links from the old board don't work anymore! :mad:

In the Oz, NZ & South Pacific forum I have started a thread linking reports relevant to the area - here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=321579)

Please add any others I have missed, or new ones.

Skiadcock - I hadnt forgotten and am looking forward to it. :)

I am due to fly AKL-LAX-LHR-LAX-AKL again in a few weeks, in C. I am hoping to upgrade to F for two legs as I have points due to expire. This is a solo business trip (ie without Mrs Gratn or baby Gratn) - I will report when I get back, but am hoping for a better experience service wise than last time.

Alright, this is for the last poster only as I'd like to have my entire report finished & posted for all as it took hours to write - geesh (Dave, where are you), but email me at SkiAdcock@aol.com & I'll send you a word doc.