Air New Zealand Air Points - NZ or SQ

Folks,

Having done alot of flying over the years but always in Y i've decided to push the boat out & travel in J for our trip next year back to Scotland. The question is do I book with NZ or SQ.

Traveling will be me, my wife & our 6month old baby (will be 6 months at the time).

Who do you guys reckon will be best overall, NZ or SQ? Seat comfort is probably the most important aspect followed by service.

Also, if any of you want to share any experiences with traveling with an infant in J, good or bad then i'd been keen to hear.

Thanks

P.S. Cost doesn't matter

main difference is in the seating. At the moment, SQ spacebeds are side by side whereas with NZ the seats are more individual and arguably you get more room for a lap child with NZ. They are also truly lie-flat which spacebeds are not and personally i prefer them. SQ have just announced a new J class but it is aircraft (773)/route dependent so worth checking their website - seems like it will be first in on routes to CDG and ZRH though rather than to LHR (at least until the A380 comes on line). They plan a 10-20% price hike for these new cabins too although i note you say cost doesn't matter.

Having flown both in J recently, i think you'll find NZ better - more room, better seat/sleep and you're in the top class on the plane. if you can book row 1 in NZ you'll be a nice cozy family unit there. service is a bit hit and miss with both carriers - so dependent on the crew of the day. I think NZ staff are genuinely more friendly and personable, whereas SQ are efficient but perhaps lack that personal touch.

there's lots on travelling with infants in the travel and dining>travel with children section. main thing is to be relaxed yourself, prepare the kid for changes of (ear) pressure on take off and landing which can upset them and have plenty of supplies with you. Gate check your stroller too.

Good luck and have great flights - at the end of the day, J in either SQ or NZ is a pleasant experience and well worth the extra over Y in my book.

The main difference isn't just the seating, it's the service.

SQ wins on both. Even though the SQ seats are angled, they're more comfortable than the NZ 'beds' in my opinion. The NZ bed has a ridge that gets you right between the shoulder blades...

But the service on SQ is HANDS DOWN better than NZ by about 200% - you get at-seat drinks service for the entire flight (without having to use the call button)! You get addressed by name - each time they speak to you!! They take your meal and wine order when you board!!! They smile - all the time!!!!

It really is like night and day.

NZ 'J' is fine but doesn't really have many nice touches to make it stand out. Each time I've flown with them the attendants disappear after the main meal service never to be seen again until the next meal service. Maybe they think this leads to a quieter and more relaxed cabin, but EasyJet do the same thing.

Welcome back to Scotland btw.

exactly my point about service being dependent on the crew of the day. Mrs DML and I have had good and indifferent (never bad, it has to be said) service from both SQ and NZ J crews - not much between them IOHO except the SQ crew usually win in the average age category. As ever, YMMV.

yes, welcome back to bonny scotland :cool:

I actually have to disagree with you sc_uk about the service. I find the service on NZ to be more genuine and natural while SQ's often comes across as forced and sometimes awkward feel to it. Of course the rest of SQ's product is fairly flawless. It just comes down to what you have as your main priority.

I can't compare to SQ, but I can tell you about NZ J and kids.

Over the last four years we have made six return trips with kids to AKL on NZ travelling in F and J. The service was excellent on eleven of those legs and mediocre on one. All my trips were in the old F and previous to that the old J, so I cannot compare to the new seats, first trip in those is in a couple of weeks.
From a kid friendly service POV, NZ excels IMO. We still have some NZ bibs. "I may not know how to walk, but I sure know how to fly"

I prefer the new business seat on NZ over the spacebed, although of course yet to try out SQ's latest offering. Depending on when you're travelling, SQ may have A380 to LHR (I wouldn't count on it) and 777-300ER to CDG, ZRH, AMS and MAN - both these would have their new seats.

Now that NZ has direct flight via HKG that tips it to NZ for me.

What arrangements do they have for infants in J? Is it along the same lines as economy where they get a bassinet?

Thanks for the replis so far guys.

although of course yet to try out SQ's latest offering. I was just now checking it out.

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/exp/new/index.jsp

especially

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/exp/new/firstclass/index.jsp

Woof woof! They really have raised the bar. Gotta love the widescreen LCD.

/me goes out to buy Lotto ticket... :D

justakiwi

What arrangements do they have for infants in J? Is it along the same lines as economy where they get a bassinet?

Thanks for the replis so far guys.

If the bassinet is the same size in the new J as it was in the old, your 6 month will unlikely fit. You will be sleeping on your side with babe beside, or better still, Ms WLGJock will have babe and you will be left in peace and quiet.
Make sure the kid is still breastfeeding when you fly, much easier for you to pass of baby free of guilt. You can tell her it will relieve ear pressure.

If the bassinet is the same size in the new J as it was in the old, your 6 month will unlikely fit.I'm not sure that's right taupo. We took our wee one AKL-BNE in "the old J" (upstairs in the pre-refurb 747), and at 8 months she was certainly nothing tiny, but there wasn't a problem with her sleeping in the bassinet at all. I can't comment on the new J but would like to know the answer to WELLINGTON JOCK's question too. I just can't believe that any tot up to 12 months couldn't fit in whatever system they have now.

I have flown with young children on SQ and found their service couldn't be faulted. They loved playing with the children in J and always found extra time for us. While trying to feed the kids, and it was meal time for everyone else, they held back our service until we were ready and then still gave us the full course by course unrushed service (ie just because we were late, didn't mean we got it all at once.)

Lots of toys in each sector and different ones each time.

Book row 22 (AC or the window / aisle on the other side) on the 747. It will give you extra foot space that you can put baby down to play and if you extend the leg rests on the aisle seat they are penned in. IF the plane isn't full, then bringing the leg rest up, without dropping the head rest does give a nice flat area for baby to sleep. So the person who has now lost their seat can sit somewhere else.

I have also seen the staff on SQ after meal services for parents travelling on their own, nurse the young babies so the parents can eat.

If the kid was older, then it would be a toss up. Yummy meals on SQ are great as it makes the kids part of the planning. Having a single table where you can both eat you meal at the same time on NZ (someone sitting on the ottoman) has its advantages.

Not sure what the others think, but I would plan to be on the 747 via HKG if you pick NZ, rather than the 777 via LAX.

But in the end - what a choice to make. This great airline had this advantage. That great airline has that advantage. No one is saying you are out of your mind for even thinking of these two, with young children.

Now if one of the choices was United in J ....

...
Make sure the kid is still breastfeeding when you fly, much easier for you to pass of baby free of guilt. You can tell her it will relieve ear pressure.

Best thing that you can do for the baby is feed them on the way up and the way down. They can't suck the boiled lollies, so they might as well suck on something else.

After travelling with a 5 month old on the new NZ (and also other airlines, he had 50.000 miles by 11 months of age), I would certainly go for NZ. Reason is fairly simple, with a flat bed we were able to make one of the seats into a bed for the whole flight, and with the three walls you could sit at one end while you child played happily at the other end. (You could still watch the films etc if he/she played happily). The other seat we used so that one of us could sleep and take turns and also to eat together. While our son slept, one us slept with him.

While we had a bassinette we had no reason to use it (except for keeping toys in!).

With angled seats you cannot do this, with angled seats you cannot have two adults share the one seat, nor can you leave the baby there as they roll onto the floor! And even in business there is not that much space between seats - you need somewhere to put your feet!

Service, food, entertainment, timings etc may be arguably better on SQ, but due to the flat seat I would go for NZ and you would be glad for it.

Also note NZ did not configure the 747s correctly, and forgot to install the bassinettes downstairs, there is only one available in business class and it is the first row to the right upstairs.

Mark

I'm not sure that's right taupo. We took our wee one AKL-BNE in "the old J" (upstairs in the pre-refurb 747), and at 8 months she was certainly nothing tiny, but there wasn't a problem with her sleeping in the bassinet at all. I can't comment on the new J but would like to know the answer to WELLINGTON JOCK's question too. I just can't believe that any tot up to 12 months couldn't fit in whatever system they have now.

KBD, I just checked when we travelled the time our then eldest wouldn't fit. She was 8 months old and not 6. I'm 6'4" and Mrs T is 5'10", we are starting our own basketball team!!!
When this happened, their was a spare seat so it didn't really matter.

As an aside, when checking in, I would ask that of there are any spare seats, that one be close to you.

Edited to add: When I travel in a couple of weeks, I will try and measure the length of the bassinet. Maybe one of our FT friendly employees can chime in and let us know the bassinet length.

Also note NZ did not configure the 747s correctly, and forgot to install the bassinettes downstairs, there is only one available in business class and it is the first row to the right upstairs.

Mark

I would say this is a good thing and definitely not a mistake (for those of us who hate to fly with kids beside us.)

I MUST remember this!