I agree. I don't fly ANZ very often - maybe twice a year between North America and New Zealand. But they are definitely much better than AC. The service onboard and in the lounges is truly amazing.

This week I'm on OZ and SQ - heading to Seoul for dinner with a friend, Singapore for a few days then to Australia for a few days. Flying back home by by SQ and NH via Vietnam and Tokyo for a couple brief lunches with friends. This will be my first time using OZ so I'm curious to see how they compare to NZ.

I was once on a flight with an NZ exec and he told me that he tries to run the airline as a family. Keeping it professional but allowing employees to make decisions. That was his comment about 3 years ago. Perhaps that's part of the difference.