Thanks for the review. I pretty much agree with this. Certainly the AKL Int lounge and 77E AVOD are poor compared to other offerings. But service is generally good, although can be inconsistent. NZ food has become a bit of a mixed bag, IME, as you have identified.

I also agree that Asian/Middle Eastern airline FAs tend to be more distant than the NZ ones, but I prefer the friendliness of NZ FAs.

Having said this, I still do not choose NZ for my regular AKL-NRT trips because of the very real possibility of ending up in J on a 763. SQ is a much nicer (and often cheaper) option, especially on the 77W to SIN and 380 to NRT, while QF also is often cheaper, with the possibilities of the EK380 to SYD and old first class seats on the unrefurbed QF744.