I bought tickets for friends, who had no prior int’l biz experience, to join us on a trip to NZ, NZ going over and UA return. It was hard to beat the convenience of the Iah-Akl flight Vice trekking all the way from MCO to SFO for the really late departure. I set expectations about the seat and service differences. After it was all said and done I asked which they preferred.

“Air New Zealand by triple” was the response. For those who are just excited to have any flat seat, warm/friendly service, far superior soft product, and convenience goes a long way. It didn’t help that United over promised and under delivered. E.g., NZ didn’t offer pajamas. United offers them, but lo and behold none were stocked. And when they asked for the mattress topper, they got a surely response.

either way you go, at least you wind up in an awesome place