Rolf
Apr 14, 07, 6:07 am
Having just returned from NZ/Australia having flown LHR-HKG-AKL return in one go in Business Premier, I thought I’d share my 2ps with fellow FFTs.
Cabin: We (my wife and I) had 1A and 1K going out and 2 and 3A coming back, and both combinations work fine for couples/friends who don’t need to get too intimate during the flight. I think I’d prefer the first 7 rows on the 747s; the cabin behind these seems more crowded. The seats are very comfortable, and although the beds feel a bit on the hard side, we both slept like logs and arrived rested and in good shape after 26 – 28 h on the same plane.
In-flight entertainment: The selection of films is good; I didn’t check the TV shows or the music. On the HKG-AKL leg, the system broke down, and the “in-flight service manager” (didn’t they used to be called stewards in the good old days?) apologized profusely and compensated us by handing out 120 NZD worth of vouchers for ANZ flights to each passenger in Business. (The poor sods in Economy got only half of that, even though they probably need the IFE more in order to survive the long trip). On top of that, we got a handful of vouchers as we left the plane in AKL, ending up with some 700 dollars worth of vouchers for not being able to see movies for 10 h!
Food: The food served on ANZ has never been much to write home about, and still isn’t. The presentation is nice, and startes, fruit and salads are OK, but the main courses are very bland and dull. Cooked breakfast still confirms to the Terry Pratchett variety of the four basic food groups: Starch, fat, sugar and burnt, crunchy bits. The wine list looks very impressive, but does not match what is actually available on the plane.
The cabin crew was very friendly and helpful on all four legs of the journey.
Lounges: We gave the LHR lounge a miss, based on advice from this group and tried the SK and SQ lounges: Both are adequate, with SQ a slight favorite due to the food.
In HKG, we used the Thai lounge going both ways. It is OK, but the shower facilities could be improved.There is only one shower for each sex, and it is cramped and lacking a sink for shaving etc.
The ANZ AKL lounge was the best of the lot. We spent six hours there connecting from SYD, and all the facilities were outstanding, with the curious exeption of no WiFi available. The food were much better than the airborne varieties
Altogether; I reckon ANZ is the way to go from Europe, and I will probably use them also for our next trip down under. If they start a Vancouver flight and AC get their act together seat-wise( I have seen a rumour that they are going to introduce flat beds too. Can anyone confirm this?), a *RTW trip does not have to include the pesky US immigration troubles.
Cabin: We (my wife and I) had 1A and 1K going out and 2 and 3A coming back, and both combinations work fine for couples/friends who don’t need to get too intimate during the flight. I think I’d prefer the first 7 rows on the 747s; the cabin behind these seems more crowded. The seats are very comfortable, and although the beds feel a bit on the hard side, we both slept like logs and arrived rested and in good shape after 26 – 28 h on the same plane.
In-flight entertainment: The selection of films is good; I didn’t check the TV shows or the music. On the HKG-AKL leg, the system broke down, and the “in-flight service manager” (didn’t they used to be called stewards in the good old days?) apologized profusely and compensated us by handing out 120 NZD worth of vouchers for ANZ flights to each passenger in Business. (The poor sods in Economy got only half of that, even though they probably need the IFE more in order to survive the long trip). On top of that, we got a handful of vouchers as we left the plane in AKL, ending up with some 700 dollars worth of vouchers for not being able to see movies for 10 h!
Food: The food served on ANZ has never been much to write home about, and still isn’t. The presentation is nice, and startes, fruit and salads are OK, but the main courses are very bland and dull. Cooked breakfast still confirms to the Terry Pratchett variety of the four basic food groups: Starch, fat, sugar and burnt, crunchy bits. The wine list looks very impressive, but does not match what is actually available on the plane.
The cabin crew was very friendly and helpful on all four legs of the journey.
Lounges: We gave the LHR lounge a miss, based on advice from this group and tried the SK and SQ lounges: Both are adequate, with SQ a slight favorite due to the food.
In HKG, we used the Thai lounge going both ways. It is OK, but the shower facilities could be improved.There is only one shower for each sex, and it is cramped and lacking a sink for shaving etc.
The ANZ AKL lounge was the best of the lot. We spent six hours there connecting from SYD, and all the facilities were outstanding, with the curious exeption of no WiFi available. The food were much better than the airborne varieties
Altogether; I reckon ANZ is the way to go from Europe, and I will probably use them also for our next trip down under. If they start a Vancouver flight and AC get their act together seat-wise( I have seen a rumour that they are going to introduce flat beds too. Can anyone confirm this?), a *RTW trip does not have to include the pesky US immigration troubles.