Air New Zealand Air Points - LAX-SYD on NZ or DL

I am planning to do a trip with my 7 year old son to Australia in August in Economy Class.
Since DL is starting a new SYD service their fares are extremely low and it's a nonstop.
NZ's fares are not to far behind DL's via AKL.
I have flown NZ a few times between AKL - PPT and NOU and really enjoyed it.
My preference is definetly NZ over DL.
The one major challenge I have is that with NZ it is not possible to pre-assign seats while making the booking which is important to me travelling with a 7 year old. Also on DL I get full miles on NZ 0.
This is a long flight and a lot of miles though I haven't been to keen on miles in recent months but rather chose an airline for service and practicality.
It seems AVOD on both airlines is similar and I am certain that service on NZ is better then on DL.

Can anyone compare these two airlines for longhaul and is there some way to pre-assign seats on NZ?
Is it worth it to sacrifice miles for service on NZ?

I would just like to hear some input from those frequently flying these route.

You can select seats by calling Air NZ.

DL hasn't started flying to Australia yet so hard to make a direct comparison.

You can select seats by calling Air NZ.

DL hasn't started flying to Australia yet so hard to make a direct comparison.

Thank you Kiwi Flyer. Yes, I remember now with regards to seat assignment.
It's been a while since I flew NZ.:)

With regards to DL not flying to SYD yet I was hoping that someone might have done another DL longhaul on their 777.
I am just wondering how seats and service would compare.

I did read that NZ's 747 have great seat pitch and great seats.
Is it true that they are superior to the ones on the 777's?

Does it cost much extra to fly an mileage earning class on Air New Zealand? While I would normally not fly an airline that does not give me miles, if the price was around $300 cheaper on this route, it would make sense. This is from a pure mileage point of view.

From a comfort point of view -Air New Zealand has a pretty good economy product. I have only flown Delta across the Atlantic and they are terrible in Y class. Call Air New Zealand after you book and get seats assigned (look at www.seatguru.com). If you are really tall - avoid Delta. I think the pitch difference is still 31"(DL) to 34"(NZ).

You can select seats by calling Air NZ.


the airnewzealand.com USA site now has the seat request box, on the home page.



I did read that NZ's 747 have great seat pitch and great seats.
Is it true that they are superior to the ones on the 777's?


On the 747s the pitch is 34", on the 777s its 32". Qantas only has 31" on there A380s & 747s