Air New Zealand Air Points - NAN to LAX question

The missus and I are flying business from NAN to LAX in December.

On NZ's website, the impression I got is that their "Business Premier" product features "a seat that converts to a 6'7.5" bed - the most comfortable fully flat bed in its class", etc, etc.

However, on checking further we'll be flying on a 767, which according to seatguru and seatexpert, doesn't have lie-flat beds, but the old-school semi-reclining seats.

The flight is 11 hrs long. Is this going to be painful?

The missus and I are flying business from NAN to LAX in December.

On NZ's website, the impression I got is that their "Business Premier" product features "a seat that converts to a 6'7.5" bed - the most comfortable fully flat bed in its class", etc, etc.

However, on checking further we'll be flying on a 767, which according to seatguru and seatexpert, doesn't have lie-flat beds, but the old-school semi-reclining seats.

The flight is 11 hrs long. Is this going to be painful?
If it is NZ metal then it will be the old business craddle seats on the 767.
Just remember it will be more painful in Y than where you are.
I do not think the business seats on FJ metal and NZ codeshare would be any better though.

There is no Business Premier LAX-NAN, but the seat is still pretty comfortable.

Make sure that your flight doesn't have a four digit flight number: if it does you are on an Air Pacific-operated flight, and almost certainly can't earn frequent flyer points.

Lasly, and it's a bit too late now, why are you going to Fiji in December? It will be pretty wet, and at any time tends to be much less beautiful than French Polynesia or Rarotonga. If you are going to stick with Fiji, make sure you don't stay at or near Nadi/Denarau, because the hotels are OK but the scenery is not nice.

While nowhere near as good as business premiere I still quite like the old business seats. I certainly can get a great sleep in them.

Lasly, and it's a bit too late now, why are you going to Fiji in December? It will be pretty wet, and at any time tends to be much less beautiful than French Polynesia or Rarotonga. If you are going to stick with Fiji, make sure you don't stay at or near Nadi/Denarau, because the hotels are OK but the scenery is not nice.

Thanks for your advice friend. Not to be blasé, but we just happen to be in the area in December and decided to drop on by Fiji for a few day. We're taking an extended two month vacation that goes from Hawaii -> Bali -> Australia -> NZ. And since we're in the vicinity, a pit stop in Fiji. We're staying at a place called Matangi Island Resort, which I guess is not near Nadi as we have to take a prop plane there. We'll see how it goes.

Hi Sandpaper,

Matangi is stunning, well chosen. You'll have a great trip (DCF is right about the Nadi area, but you're about as far away from that as you can get, so no worries).

The NAN-LAX flight is quite comfortable - I have no trouble sleeping in the seats either, quite comfortable even though not lie flat.

Have a great trip.

Cheers, Zac

Good luck Sandpaper, and I hope you have a good trip.

Having said that, I've cut out a couple of things from the current (31 October) Australian government official travel advisories for you to consider......

We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack. We continue to receive reports indicating that terrorists are planning attacks against Western interests against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners. If you are in Indonesia, including Bali, and are concerned for your safety you should consider departing. If you do decide to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, you should exercise extreme caution.

Terrorist attacks against Westerners in Bali and Jakarta indicate that these areas are a priority target for terrorists in Indonesia. Suicide attacks against locations frequented by foreigners in Bali and Jakarta have killed and injured many people.

Here in Australia that makes products like life insurance and travel insurance null and void if disaster should strike. By all means go, but make sure that you know where you stand, because if you have dependent children you may find that they risk being left with nothing.

The Bali problem is not really part of the USA's global issue so much as a consequence of Australia's 1999 East Timor intervention, but all of us in Australia know people who have been touched by suicide attacks in Bali and it is not a threat to take lightly. Best of luck.

Mind you, the most mind-boggling thing is that you're combining it with Fiji. Did you get a good deal due to the political crisis? Here is the current travel advisory for Fiji.....

We advise you to exercise caution in Fiji due to the unresolved political situation and deterioration in the rule of law following the December 2006 military coup.
Pay close attention to your personal security and monitor the media for information about possible new safety or security risks.
Public emergency regulations introduced in early September were lifted on 6 October 2007.

I've just got back from Fiji, and to be honest it's safe. But Bali........

Heheheh...that's funny man. No, I didn't get a good deal on the travel to Bali and Fiji. We rented private villas in Bali so as to be as far away from the crowd as possible. And the Fiji thing is just a what-the-heck sort of a decision. Perhaps a bit reckless, but we shall see.

Our government website also noted the caution when visiting Bali, but Fiji did not make it on the list. Of note is that popular European destinations which have recently been bombed (London, Madrid) did not grace this very same travel warning list. Naive that I may be, I harbor no illusion that the reasons are most likely political, and whether or not a destination merits a warning can be arbitrary.

Of course we will practice prudence and care during our travel. However, here in the States, more people are tragically maimed and injured in their home each year than elsewhere.

Cheers.

Sandpaper, there is a very significant difference between terror attacks in London / Madrid / NYC and terror attacks in Bali.

The government and security forces in Indonesia harbour arguably the strongest grudges about the East Timor events, and there are constant questions about their own role in this sort of event, with hypotheses varying from them having no role in these events to suggestions of complicity or even leadership and execution of these events. Moreover, we know from the murder of a dissident on a Garuda flight by a member of the secret service, operating as a crew member, that those lines are extremely blurred.

I would have thought that if you go to New York or London you can be pretty sure that the Police are working against terrorists, rather than helping them. With Bali it's much more complicated, and it's hard to know when to feel at ease or at risk.

Indonesia is a terrific country, and no-one is suggesting that these events are government policy, just that the government can't control the situation or even all of its staff.

DCF, thanks for the background info. Major media outlets in this country are better at keeping tab of Britney Spears' daily bowel movement than to report on something remote such as Australia's involvement with East Timor's independence in 1999. Such geo-political maneuvering as it relates to the bombings in Bali is not something that is considered and covered here in the States. That there should even be a hint about complicity between the Indonesian government and the bombings does make one wonder about the relative safety of such a place. Alas, tickets booked, villas rented -- here I go.

However, for the Jakarta government to be involved in such homicidal acts seem financially/economically reckless as it seems that the tourist dollars account for a good portion of Indonesia's economy.

Here in the States, we also have our own conspiracy theory floated about by certain groups that the events of 9/11 have the government's imprints and possible blessings on it.

I suppose it boils down to which theory has more leg and is more likely -- Washington, which rank 20th on Transparency International's 2007 Corruption Perception Index, or Jarkarka, which is somewhere near the bottom at 143rd.

Somehow a question about a seat on a plane evolved to this political exchange. Flyertalk is a cool place! :)

Enjoy your trip Sandpaper, and be confident in the knowledge that the chances of disaster are too remote to be worth spoiling your trip for.

Whereas in the rest of the Third World any white tourist is perceived as American until proven otherwise, in Bali you're Australian until proven otherwise, and that's worth remembering when you're there.

Another bit of background info you should be alert to is the case of Schapelle Corby, which you should look up on Wikipedia. She's serving 20 years in jail in Bali for the unusual crime of smuggling drugs in, but her, ahem, appearance made her case a major matter here (look her up on Google images and you'll understand).

Anyway, where this affects Flyertalk is that as a consequence private operators at each Australian airport will apply an unbreakable transparent bag to your luggage (for around $20 per piece) so that the unremittingly paranoid can be confident that those naughty customs officers haven't planted drugs in their luggage like they supposedly did with that nice Corby lady. You might want to consider it.....

She's hot! :D

Awful shame. Thanks for the tip.

Recently at JFK airport in NY, a drug-smuggling ring was busted up after they found the baggage handlers were smuggling the goods in people's luggage.

Link to story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7048266.stm

Once luggages leave your possession, who knows what become of them.

Matangi Island Resort is very very nice and Fiji is VERY safe. Enjoy your trip there.

I will be in Fiji from Nov 19th to Dec 2nd - let me know if you need any help.

In case you thought I was exaggerating, from abc.net.au......

David "Spike" Stewart lost his son when the Sari Club was incinerated in 2002 and is not impressed that other bombers, including Ali Imron who drove the explosive van that night, have been rewarded for their contrition and cooperation with a Muslim fast-breaking meal with Indonesia's anti-terror unit chief Surya Dharma.

And to top it all off......

After just two and a bit years in prison for his part in the conspiracy to stage the 2002 Bali bombings, fundamentalist Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir today walked free from an Indonesian prison.

Be careful!

Matangi Island Resort is very very nice and Fiji is VERY safe. Enjoy your trip there.

I will be in Fiji from Nov 19th to Dec 2nd - let me know if you need any help.

Thank you for the offer friend. If there's another coup while I'm there, I'll just blend in with the natives. The wife, on the other hand, with her fair skin...



Be careful!

Heheheh...I've lived in NYC. People have tried to mug me, pick my pocket, scam me, etc. etc. But like horseshoe crabs and cockroaches, I'm still here. :D