Route / Plane
LAX-AKL / 747
Day/Night flight
11pm at Night - NZ5
Seat No. (aisle / window / middle)
22B & 22C middle and aisle
Check in ok?
Checked in at YYZ with Air Canada. When we went to the Koru Club, they re-issued our boarding passes on Air New Zealand paper
Seat comfort (width ok?)
Width was a little tight(ish) but I think because we were on the exit row the tray and AVOD were tucked away in the sides. Wasn't a huge problem for me (over 6ft tall and 210lbs). The foot rests were a waste of time for someone my size. But I'd say that the seats were the most comfortable non J seats I've flown in. Only problem with the exit row (and this might seem odd) is the lack of storage space. I would've appreciated somewhere to put my headphones, water bottle, iPod etc. I noticed that the window seats had little storage areas which was cool.
Legroom
No problems as we had an exit row on the upper deck - plenty of leg room.
Ease of getting in and out
Preboarding was announced for Premium Economy customers along with Star Alliance Gold so I was covered either way
Food
Dismal. And I was aware that I would be served economy food so it wasn't from unrealistic expectations. The evening meal was probably some of the worst I've eaten on a plane. However, I believe this is unusual for ANZ. The breakfast was better - I normally make it a rule to never eat anything that's supposed to be from the omlette family but this time it was not bad. Everything else was pretty horid.
The self service pantry was pretty good - I munched my way through a few bananas, some cookie bars and some grapes... I appreciated that.
Drink
Wasn't drinking on this flight but the "bar" was there for your helping.
FA attentiveness
Great - weird thing was we had an all male staff in PE. Both 50+ so it was a bit of a culture shock. They were very good. The only problem I found was that because we were on the front row of the upper deck, the business section was infront of us, so you were really aware that they were special and you weren't - so despite the fact that the FA's were good, you were aware that they were 'better' to the business folks. Which is fare enough, given the price they'd paid! But they were good, very chatty, attentive and some of the better service I've received on a flight.
AVOD
I appreciated the AVOD but the selection wasn't *that* massive and it was fairly unresponsive e.g. I found myself having to press select several times for it to respond to me. Having just used the AC AVOD on the flight to LAX probably didn't help because I had that fresh in my memory and it was easier to use and definately more responsive.
Would you do it again?
Probably not if I was paying full price for it... this was part of a RTW itinerary and I paid a $300 surcharge to upgrade for PE which seemed worth it. If they through in the business menu, then definately. The problem is, I didn't get to see the economy cabin so I couldn't do an effective comparison. If I was doing the 747 again, I'd probably book the exit rows downstairs rather than sit upstairs and be constantly reminded I wasn't in business... the downstairs PE cabin seemed much more contained and therefor nicer. But I guess that's just preference.