Originally Posted by
akl_cat
TK is right.
Although I would not use the word "generous" on Air NZ. Their system was unable to differentiate NZ*G and other *Gs from a seating point of view before. But with this new hideous looking seat map they finally put in that capability so the sugar water stopped for the other *Gs. It's actually just a front-end change. Their back-end system is still none the wiser.
Unfortunately, I'm flying Economy (X) with no elevated status on either United or AirNZ. I already tried the AirNZ support chat to express my disappointment about the fees, but they weren't able to budge. So, it definitely sounds like I'll have to just suck it up and pay the seating fees to ensure we all sit together.