The other downside of the NZ seat is that it doesn’t have a lot of options. You’ve got a few slight incline options on the front side of the seat and then full lie flat. The cabin is also very open and has an almost dormitory feel when every seat is a bed.

I slept well enough on NZ but still prefer the AC seat overall.

For service the NZ service is definitely way more attentive than AC, but on our first flight it was just annoying. We left late out of ORD and every interaction just took forever. The crew was lovely and spent an inordinate amount of time with every passenger so the service just took way too long. For example, I waited for like five minutes for my entrée to get from the cart to me while the one FA serving my aisle helped the woman in the row in front of me plan her arrival. The service just stopped multiple times for the entire cabin for this passenger and a few others who were both oblivious to the impact. I was only mid cabin and delays just cascaded further back. Just because a flight is 16 hours doesn’t mean you want to spend the first three hours on dinner.

It’s great to be attentive but you also need to be efficient. My other flights were better but I was longing for some AC coldness.