Air New Zealand Air Points - Recent business class meals across the Pacific?

Greetings all,

Just tried browsing the last 8 screens of threads and trying in vain to use the Google workaround for the broken search function, to no avail...

Does anyone have any recent NZ business class menu reports from flights to/from the United States?

My wife and I are traveling SFO-AKL and CHC-LAX later in March. She is a "reformed" vegetarian ;) who will eat fish and white meat chicken, but not dark meat. We have her down for a vegetarian meal now, but the meal descriptions from the NZ website have her reconsidering her choice... I'm looking forward to the food on this trip, as it sounds like it's a cut above.

The folks in the UA forum have a thread where they post menus and meals, which inspired me to look for similar information here.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Cakobau, I can't answer your question, but which date in later March. I will be on SFO-AKL March 23rd.

The FlyerTalk search feature is back up and running again :)

Sorry, also can't help you with the meals but which seats have you got preassigned ?

Cakobau, I can't answer your question, but which date in later March. I will be on SFO-AKL March 23rd.
Hi taupo, we're on SFO-AKL March 9, and CHC-LAX March 27. Alas...

The FlyerTalk search feature is back up and running again
Hallelujah! Found some threads on inflight meals from 2002, but not very specific.

which seats have you got preassigned ?
I don't have the precise seats handy, but I believe we are downstairs in row 18 on NZ 7, and upstairs in row 10 on NZ 18. Good picks, I hope?

Thanks...

From memory, AirNZ premium classes will only ever have one red meat option - often the 3 choices are lamb + chicken + fish or beef + chicken + fish.

Doesn't NZ's website list meals?

From memory, AirNZ premium classes will only ever have one red meat option - often the 3 choices are lamb + chicken + fish or beef + chicken + fish.
Thanks! Sounds promising. If others have recent menus, I'd still love to hear them.

Doesn't NZ's website list meals?
Indeed they do...

http://www.airnewzealand.com/travelinfo/ontheplane/businessclass/business_class_menu.htm

...but I assume that their meals aren't always THIS one, no? More importantly, it wasn't clear to me if this was an example of a single menu you might expect, or a collection of dishes that might appear on a menu at some point. I.e., how many of options are actually available in flight? mad_atta's post is helpful on this front.

Thanks for all the amazingly fast replies!

I don't have the precise seats handy, but I believe we are downstairs in row 18 on NZ 7, and upstairs in row 10 on NZ 18. Good picks, I hope?

I presume that the Upper Deck is closed on NZ0007 ?

Check out this site..... www.airlinemeals.net

Maybe you`ll see what they have here.

Enjoy!

Try & get row 11 if you can.

I dont have any recent business menu, but this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388543) includes a first menu from mid last year. Business menu is similar, 1 less option and slightly lower quality.

I presume that the Upper Deck is closed on NZ0007 ?
Indeed. Upstairs is entirely booked. On NZ18, 7JK were available, but we chose 10AB. We're not big bulkhead fans. I've only flown business class on UA and LH, on 777/767/A340, so this will be my first upstairs experience, and I can see what the excitement is about.

Check out this site..... www.airlinemeals.net
Thanks. Yes, that's a great site. Most recent pics are from NRT-AKL in summer 2004. Some nice looking meals in there which made my mouth water!

Try & get row 11 if you can.

I dont have any recent business menu, but this thread includes a first menu from mid last year. Business menu is similar, 1 less option and slightly lower quality.

Thanks to you as well. That's quite a trip!

It sounds as though the non-vegetarian option would certainly work for my wife. I noticed that a vegetarian option was specifically listed as an option on the first class menu Kiwi Flyer posted, presumably suggesting that it wasn't even necessary to pre-order. This would be ideal, but perhaps not available in business class. We'll see!

In any event, thanks to all who have replied. I'll be sure to keep the menus and post them here after the trip is over.

I noticed that a vegetarian option was specifically listed as an option on the first class menu Kiwi Flyer posted, presumably suggesting that it wasn't even necessary to pre-order. This would be ideal, but perhaps not available in business class.

Sorry, thats only on First menus not Business. I would keep the special meal request in. If something on the standard menu appeals then could choose that instead during the flight. But if nothing on standard menu it is too late to ask for vegetarian if havent pre-ordered it. There usually is a light meal option on the standard menu.

I would keep the special meal request in. If something on the standard menu appeals then could choose that instead during the flight. But if nothing on standard menu it is too late to ask for vegetarian if havent pre-ordered it.

But remember, if a special meal is ordered and the pax decides that they want something off the regular menu, then they will be made to wait until all other business class paxs have choosen their main course, at which point there may no longer be a choice.

Hi,

I was in row 10 on March 1st AKL - LAX, the choices were indeed Lamb, Chicken and Fish. I had the lamb with asparagas and potatoes. The appetizer was salmon and everything was very good. Row 10 is good, but the seats are too close, wouldn't be much fun in the window seat if you need to go to the loo.

Enjoy the trip.

SML

Having recently flown on NZ 7 SFO-AKL and NZ 18 CHC-LAX, I can now report some recent business class menus...

NZ 7 SFO-AKL March 9 2005

Dinner

Appetiser
Dungeness crab cakes with vine ripened tomatoes, fennel salad and paprika aioli

Main course choices
1) Sauteed beef tenderloin on glazed Asian greens and sesame rice cakes, sweet and sour pepper sauce
2) Seared fillet of halibutwith prawn and fennel mash, herb truffle sauce
3) White hickory smoked chicken breast with sweet potato and ginger cake, apple pear red currant port wine sauce

The meal was served with excellent breads, such as a cranberry-walnut, a sourdough, and French. They were toasted up nicely. ^ ^ (No such luck on the return... see below)

Dessert choices
1) Ice cream dessert selection of pineapple coconut and strawberry
2) Apricot pistachio Bavarian cream

Cheese and fruit
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese and seasonal fruit

Beverages
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea and hot chocolate

Wines:
(the menu lists several wines, but I am only listing the ones that were available on the flight, that I tried, and that I remember. The menu listed several that were not available, and they were pouring several that were not on the menu. Alas, I didn't try them all... :D )
Sparkling Wine
Mumm Cuvee DVX Napa (vintage ??) ^
White Wine
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Seifried Riesling 2001, Nelson
Red Wine
Mount Difficulty Central Otago Pinot Noir 2002 ^ ^
(There was also an Australian Shiraz offered, I don't remember the name, and much to my amusement, the wine list that the airline distributed doesn't bother to detail what the Australian reds would be...)
Dessert Wine
Passed on the dessert wine, and don't recall what it was. Sorry.

Breakfast

Beverages
Strawberry smoothie, choice of juice, coffee, decaf, tea, herbal tea, hot chocolate. (The smoothie was nice!)

Continental Selection
Fruit Selection with assorted cereals and yoghurts.
Croissants, white and wholemeal toast with fruit conserve.
(they had some more of that yummy cranberry-walnut bread, too)

Hot Options
1) Egg beater omelette with Californian vegetables and herbs, potato rosti and tomato
2) Creamy herb scrambled eggs with chicken and cilantro sausage, Kassler bacon and Roma tomato.
3) Banana stuffed French toast with Kassler bacon, chicken and cilantro sausage and breakfast syrup. (tasted ok, but heavy...)

NZ 18 CHC-LAX March 27 2005

Dinner

Appetiser
Manuka honey glazed salmon with golden kiwifruit salsa
(salmon was smoked)

Main course choices:
1) Kawakawa rubbed New Zealand lamb with roasted kumara, tomato chilli pesto, green beans and lamb jus. (was ok)
2) Apricot and ricotta chicken breast wrapped in bacon on saffron risotto, spinach and caponata
3) Sauteed South Island blue cod with prawn and lobster butter, truffled potato mash and asparagus

Dessert
1) Gourmet ice cream dessert of Kapiti passion fruit lemon curd ice cream and black currant and blackberry ice cream
2) Pavlova with whipped cream and strawberries Melba

Cheese and Fruit
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese and seasonal fruit. (nice selection!)

Beverages
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, herbal tea and hot chocolate.

Wines
Identical wine list was distributed, but very different wines actually loaded onboard.
Sparkling Wine
Nicholas Feuillate NV Reserve Particuliere Champagne, France
White Wine
(same Villa Maria Sauv Blanc as above)
Red Wine
Montana Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2001
(another Aussie Shiraz, and the dessert wine that I forget)


Breakfast

Same beverages as SFO-AKL above
Same continental selection, just inferior breads

Hot options
1) Three egg omelette filled with tomato and herbs, asparagus and vegetable rosti
2) Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, grilled ham and spinach potato rosti
3) Cinnamon French toast with Kassler ham, caramelized banana and apple honey syrup


Review:
Frankly, I was a bit disappointed by the meals, probably because the tasty-sounding menus on the Air New Zealand website got my hopes up. Food was certainly abundant, but it sounded a lot better than it tasted, with overcooking and oversalting being the norm. The crab cakes and the bread were the highlight on the SFO-AKL leg. The cheese selection was very nice on both flights.

The beef tenderloin was very overdone, without a hint of red or pink inside. The chicken breast, which my wife had, was tasty, but very salty. Drink lots of fluids! ;) The hot breakfast selections were rather greasy. On the CHC-LAX return, the breads were a big step down - croissant, white or pumpernickel. I wonder if the SFO-AKL flight is especially good because of San Francisco's bread culture. The saltiness of the dishes was particularly noticeable, since overnight water refills were rare.

But the wines were excellent. (If you like New Zealand wines!) Be sure to ask what they actually have, and don't rely on the wine lists provided. Some real treats could be on that cart!

Bon appetit!

Having recently flown on NZ 7 SFO-AKL and NZ 18 CHC-LAX, I can now report some recent business class menus...


We flew LAX->CHC on March 24, then AKL->SFO on April 3 (essentially the reverse of yours), and we had the exact same menus. I generally would agree with your assessments of the selections. I wasn't terribly impressed with eithet the beef or the lamb, but the crab cakes were pretty nice. my wife (not a red-meat eater) liked the chicken on the outbound, less on the return.

However, the service was wonderful in both directions...

IFE was nicer on the outbound because we had the version with the large IFE screens. it was pretty disappointing on the return to get the tiny screens... still, overall they were two nice flights.

Dan