Air New Zealand Air Points - PE review from the aussie twins.




View Full Version : PE review from the aussie twins.


youngaussienurse
Mar 26, 08, 2:22 am
Hi everyone! I would like to give my review on PE on ANZ (may 2007).
Passengers:- Youngaussienurse, 27yo female and her identical twin sister (also a young aussie nurse:)

Destination:- Melbourne, Australia- Auckland -San fran with ANZ (then to Orlando with America West).

We have travelled twice before this to the USA. The first time was with ANZ in economy. It was great, they blocked out a row for us!!! The next time was with United.,....NOT GOOD..we flew in economy plus, good leg room but the plane was very shabby, my headphone jacks were not working and the TV we couldn't see. On top of this my poor twin got a BAD case of the runs from the chicken sandwich...not good when the beverage cart is blocking the aisle and you NEED to go...lets just say she did not have a 'magical day' at walt disney world the next day:)

So, I had recently had spinal surgery (and needed more) and we discovered that ANZ had premium economy. I just wanted the leg room, so we booked as it was worth it for me not to be in pain!

From previously only flying economy, it was superb!!!!!

First leg - Melbourne to Auckland- Great flight. Seats we had previously booked months in advance (bulkhead for me ) were given to an elderly couple. No probs!!! Still heaps of room, and even though seats were not any wider really than economy, this did not bother us at all as we are small in stature anyway. The leg rests were good for me to elevate my legs, even though it is only a little elevation.
Food_ It was lunch on this first leg (approx 4.5 hrs). We got gourmet meat pies which were delish!!! Then yummy icecream for dessert. and I can't forget the pre departure drinks, which were EXTREMELY beneficial for two people who are SCARED of flying:)

Next leg Auckland to San Fran- We managed to make sure we had the bulk head for the longhaul flight, which was no probs as we had pre booked it, and the people at the desk were very nice and asked if I needed any help (no I was fine:).

Flight was wonderful, I can't express how impressed I was with the FAs. They were very attentive the whole way.

In flight entertainment was good for us (other flights we have NEVER had our own TVS) and the noise cancelling headsets were fantastic.

Food... GREAT...I will quote from the menu I have here...
Dinner- My twin had ' 42 below vodka marinated and caramalised salmon with asparagus, kaffir lime mash, citrus creme fraiche and watercress' She LOVED it and still raves about it!! I had "Roast fillet of NZ beef with blue cheese and oxtail ravioli, steamed potatoes, green beans with hazelnuts and paprika tomato broth' This was restaurant quality, and I know it sounds weird, but I mantain that this was the best steak I have EVER had!!!
Dessert was ' Apple and black plum tart with titoki (don't know what that is:) liqueur cream. We then had a selection of cheeses (brie, blue, edam etc) with crackers and quince paste. We also had a nice port and were CONSTANTLY asked if we would like ANOTHER drink from the bar (yes please!!) We were not scared of flying at this point hehehe. I think they were trying to get everyone to sleep well the way they were offerig the alcohol around:) We were also offered a selection of yummy warm breads. I had olive bread and my twin had a fantastic sourdough mmmm yum!!

Breakfast was- Me- Ricotta griddled pancake with caramalised cinnamon bananas and apple cranberry compote with manuka honey and apple syrup...can we all say YUM!!!!
My twin had- Bacon omlette with roasted tomato relish and chives, breakfast potatoes and veal sausage. She said this was great too.

We were also offered fruit and yoghurt (which we had and it was yum too) and cereals (which we were too full for:) And a delish smoothie which was very yummy and refreshing. We then got hot towels to wipe our sticky fingers on:)

All in all comfort was good for me (as good as it could have been on a long flight). We slept a bit with the help of a little tablet (the good thing about being nurses...the Drs wrote us up for some nice little relaxing tabs so we didn't worry too much and could have a sleepy).
I listened to music most of the time. My twin watched a few comedies.
Toilets were clean and well stocked with lotions and lip balms and facewashers.
As I said, I thought the flight attendants were wonderful.
We were so impressed we couldn't fault it.
We are flying again in Oct this year in PE with them (same route). This time we are on a 747-300 for the long haul with a two seat configuration. It will be interesting to see if this is as good (or better) as people say it is.
Anyway, we both had a fantastic flight and would not hesitate to fly PE again. WELL worth the money if you can't afford business class, but need a bit more comfort!!
Well done ANZ....we will be seeing you soon.....look for the twins who are holding onto the seats with white knuckles (and offer them a drink) hehehe.^


trooper
Mar 26, 08, 3:49 am
It's marvellous that you had a good trip...(and it's fun to read such an enthusiastic report!!!) AND... on the 777...:D Generally... - as you seem to be aware already - the opinion here is that PE on that aircraft is nowhere near as good as on the 747-400.... ;).. I know I subscribe to that view.....

Flying from MEL or BNE you get PE all the way too.... those of us departing from SYD don't....:(

Food IS good isn't it? (Of course I'm a bachelor and a lousy cook.. so I just like having aomeone else (anyone else) prepare it!) As for dessert NZ may as well not offer me a choice of "duff".. if they have that ice cream then I'm happy!:D

Like you I have been continually impressed by the FA's.... probably the major reason I have made NZ my airline of choice...

Enjoy the next trip.... most folks here recommend the Upper deck pairs in PE.. I have a different opinion... I like the main deck "mini cabins" of 8 seats.... go figure....;)

I'm on NZ again in early June... SYD-AKL-HKG.. then (LAX-)NAN-AKL-SYD - from NAN in the 767 just for a change!

AndDee
Mar 26, 08, 5:42 am
Nice review, I have not flown NZ for a few months and had forgotton how good their food is.

Recently flying AC in business class and the food was well about a 4/10 where my food on my NZ flight in PE before that was 9.5/10

Flight attendants usually better on Air NZ as well

Shame they keep pumping up the prices :(


craigel
Mar 26, 08, 8:44 am
We flew from LAX to AUK 2 months ago in PE on the 777, it was not worth the money. We had a window and an aisle in a 3 row, I felt very claustrphobic. FA's were not great "You want chicken or beef"? Our friends were up front in business class, they had the same FA's , when my friend asked for another coffee at breakfast the reply was "I have 18 other people to serve you know" We flew home from Sidney to Toronto on AC direct through Van, what a difference. Food much better and FA's were amazing. I would not go AirNZ again unless business class but would seek out another airline first

AndDee
Mar 26, 08, 9:18 am
Yep the 777 Premium Economy is a bad product and I am yet to see a good review on it.

I don't think anyone can say that the food on AC is better than NZ honestly! You only need to read the AC forums to hear all the complaints about food and service in J on AC.

The food I received on QF J SYD-MEL which is a 1hr 20 min flight was far far better and had much more taste than anything I received on AC from SYD-YVR-YLW and return.

nz_crew
Mar 26, 08, 5:25 pm
Yep the 777 Premium Economy is a bad product and I am yet to see a good review on it.


What's post 1 on this thread, chopped liver? :p

AndDee
Mar 26, 08, 6:20 pm
What's post 1 on this thread, chopped liver? :p

Whoops! :o

I am yet to read more than 1 good review of the 777 PE product :) Except for the great crew of course ;)

trooper
Mar 26, 08, 7:04 pm
And I'm sorry to say (cos I was very much looking forward to the flight!) that on my one long haul experience in J on AC (Xm'ed 763) neither the service nor the food matched that received on the NZ PE flights I've taken... It was "OK".. but not much more than that.... the new seats were the saving grace for me....

Shame really.... and of course my experience on AC may be as atypical as craigels seems to me at least on NZ! ;)

youngaussienurse
Mar 26, 08, 9:57 pm
Thanks for reading my review. I am enjoying this forum, as I believe a part of the holiday is enjoying the flight:) I am surprised people have had bad experiences, but after only ever flying in economy, I thought this was a great treat.....maybe it is different for those who are business people and have flown in higher classes before...then it would probably seem bad. For those of us who probably will not be able to afford business class, I think that this is a great option if you need the extra room, as it is pretty reasonable for the price I think. Anyway, I am looking forward to flying in PE again as it is a luxury for me, on a nurses wage I don't think I'll see business class...but you never know I guess!!!^:D:-:

mad_atta
Mar 26, 08, 10:00 pm
We flew home from Sidney to Toronto on AC direct through Van, what a difference. Food much better and FA's were amazing. I would not go AirNZ again unless business class but would seek out another airline first

I have to say I'm amazed by that comment - I've flown 1.5 return trips SYD-YVR-YYZ-NYC on AC in the last couple of months, with a wide range of service standards and food ranging from adequate to vile, while the wine has been consistently poor. Contrast that to 30 or 40 business class sectors on NZ over the last 3-4 years in which there have only been about 2 disappointing meals. I enjoy AC's new seats (of course NZ's J seats are better, but I don't get free upgrades to those :) ) but in every other respect they are waaay behind NZ. Having said that I haven't tried NZ's PE product - if they would just add JFK as a destination I'd be on it like a flash :)

ntddevsys
Mar 26, 08, 10:37 pm
Thanks for reading my review. I am enjoying this forum, as I believe a part of the holiday is enjoying the flight:) I am surprised people have had bad experiences, but after only ever flying in economy, I thought this was a great treat.....maybe it is different for those who are business people and have flown in higher classes before...then it would probably seem bad. For those of us who probably will not be able to afford business class, I think that this is a great option if you need the extra room, as it is pretty reasonable for the price I think. Anyway, I am looking forward to flying in PE again as it is a luxury for me, on a nurses wage I don't think I'll see business class...but you never know I guess!!!^:D:-:Sounds like you got some good crews both ways - and that makes a real difference.

I would also add that ~ AUD 3850 could go a long way towards some serious discounted business class travel [probably not on NZ though].

trooper
Mar 27, 08, 6:59 pm
That's a good point... especially with a creative/indirect routing...

Did one of those in feb... to the US via Asia - mainly in C.... back in Y+ on NZ for not much more than the straight Y+ return..

Liked it so much i've booked something similar for June.... (which was going to include AC's South American tango.....:mad::(:td:)

AndDee
Mar 31, 08, 11:06 am
Okay so V Australia how now been launched and flights on sales and seating etc detailed roughly

They had a $999 return SYD-LAX fare for the first 1000 people, which sold out in about 12 hours, not bad!

Now back to my point about Y+

VA - MEL-LAX Y+ is around $3700
NZ - MEL-LAX Y+ is around $4200

This should put more pressure on NZ to upgrade their premium economy now especially on the 777's

VA - 20 inch wide seat, it will have to be 2-3-2 config as no way 3-3-3 will fit at 20inches wide. NZ is 17.8 to 18.5 inches wide

VA - 38 inch pitch - Same as NZ basically

VA - Food/drinks not really specified but should be in between J and Y in terms of quality/service

A very nice product from VA and I hope that NZ don't take until 2010/2011 to respond as they will surely loose some market share from VA.

Intersting times ahead

Buzz53
Mar 31, 08, 6:48 pm
T

Did one of those in feb... to the US via Asia - mainly in C.... back in Y+ on NZ for not much more than the straight Y+ return..


I've been thinking of this as well. Tried to use Asiana for a SYD to SEA but it required a 24 hour stop-over.
Who have you been using?

trooper
Mar 31, 08, 6:50 pm
PM heading your way.....:D

alect
Apr 2, 08, 6:57 am
We just flew NZ PE LAX-AKL-MEL (our move to MEL) one way. I was very impressed with both the hard and soft products. The seat was much more spacious than Y. The IFE was excellent and hard to fault. The food was very good (although my fish was cold). The FAs were excellent - though ther LAX-AKL FAs were better, and the AKL-MEL FAs were far more laid back and the service more minimal.

The lounge at LAX was excellent and the staff there super friendly and helpful. The lounge in AKL too was great. I did not have problems with access with my wife and daughter (3yo).

fly747first
Apr 2, 08, 1:36 pm
Nice review, I have not flown NZ for a few months and had forgotton how good their food is.

Recently flying AC in business class and the food was well about a 4/10 where my food on my NZ flight in PE before that was 9.5/10

Flight attendants usually better on Air NZ as well

Shame they keep pumping up the prices :(

Yes, I'll definitely say NZ for the most part has 5-star cabin crews, much better than Qantas'.

getaround
Apr 2, 08, 2:08 pm
Anyway, I am looking forward to flying in PE again as it is a luxury for me, on a nurses wage I don't think I'll see business class...but you never know I guess!!!^:D:-:


Join the AIRNZ FF club. if you fly enough you'll get that business class one day.



SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0