Y seating advice
 

Hi,

Wondering if anyone could advise me on seats, specifically on NZ1 and NZ19?
To put a bit of context behind it, I'm off on the holiday I've dreamed of since spending my gap year in NZ ten years ago (working and learnt to play rugby, rather than drinking my way around!), thanks to £4000 inheritance. Booked via ebookers rather than AirNZ as it was cheaper - later came to regret this as I had to buy a connecting flight to ZQN separately rather than amending my booking :( Have also joined Airpoints although may regret not joining BMI Diamond instead - I assume its too late now to change the loyalty programme assigned to my booking? Though I'd love to be flying back to NZ regularly I can't afford to! Booking class is M5/Q5 according to ebookers, but not entirely sure which code applies to which sectors!


I fly LON-RAR (via LAX) dep 18th December NZ1, arr 19th on NZ19 - 3 hr 30 changeover in LAX, hoping to get into the Koru Club for a shower via either paying for a day pass or if I'm super lucky being guested ;).

Have requested seat 50C on NZ1 as there is no-one in 50B, however 58K is available and there are two middle rows of 4 free at the back. I assumed the extra inch of seat pitch on ABC/HJK seats means its better to go for these? And would I be better off in 50C and hoping no-one takes the middle seat or going for 56K but only sitting next to one person? I'm not the slimmest of ladies (play prop) so would like shoulder/elbow room but am 5'8 tall so should be ok pitch-wise.

NZ19- have taken 25D as the row is free and it seems mostly full.

Fly RAR-AKL 26th Dec (arr 27th 1135) - much quieter flight so have 19K and hope to enjoy views of Rarotonga on departure!
Then connect on different booking 1415 AKL-ZQN - smart saver so no AP$ :( Assume I won't be able to check baggage through to ZQN in RAR as two different booking codes?

And finally, AKL -LON NZ2 13-14 Jan. Returning a day early as have a rugby match on 15th (stupid or dedicated, depending how you look at it - mostly stupid!). Assigned 43G all the way home as no ABC/HJK available in Y - is it worth trying to stay as far forward as possible or go for 55/56 D or G on currently empty rows?

Was also hoping to sweettalk the Fairy into giving me enough points to request a standby upgrade for one of the legs on NZ2 - from what I can work out I'll have somewhere between 90 and 145 AP$ before I return (and between 155 and 250 when I get back to London :rolleyes:) - can anyone do a better calculation than me? And is it even worth trying for a standby as a Jade (as I'm pretty sure the fairy isn't going to dish out the hundreds required for a confirmed upgrade!)?

Sorry this is so long and thanks for any help :)

Welcome to FlyerTalk xmassheep:)
I am only going by what you wrote but it appears that you are after shoulder room not legroom.
For 777-300ER flights to/from LHR you are out of luck. The Economy seats are narrow, similar to 737 and A320 Economy seats, slightly narrower IMO. I would as a singe traveller choose a window or aisle AB or JK seat in rows 57-59 as the seating is 2-4-2 see seat map
For the 767-300ER flights to/from RAR I suggest the best bet to get a free seat next to you is the centre aisle seats, as aisles and window seats are assigned first and the seating is 2-3-2 see seat map
You can join BMI and have it loaded into your booking however NZ does not usually give *A points for low economy fares but only some to Airpoints accounts.
I am going by the fact that you booked a cheap economy flight, after 1 June 2011.
Now Airpoints earning is based on "journey" so you will in fact get APD credit for London to Auckland, either 45, 55 or 65 for the 3 lowest categories.:td:
Airpoints is an awful program but try not to let this ruin your trip to NZ.

Thanks Blackcloud :D Have been lurking for a little while and finally jumped in.

This is all really helpful, so thanks for taking the time to answer in such detail - and yes, shoulder room is a little higher in my priority list than pitch. Will do my seat requests now.

Will not let my low earning AP ruin my trip at all, after all I've not lost anything :cool: but its good to know to avoid disappointment. Had hoped that given it was a peak fare (but yes, booked after the 1 June and still relatively cheap) I'd get a few more points from it, but never mind, I'm still going on an awesome trip.:)

I have a mate who is an AirNZ FA based in London, so we are hoping to co-ordinate once she gets her schedule and I'm sure a friend onboard will help one/both of the LHR-LAX legs pass quicker.

One question I had meant to ask but forgotten (as if I hadn't asked enough already), I get the impression that the headphone jacks on seat arms are double pronged and won't take standard 3.5mm single connectors - do AirNZ supply headphones these days? I did fly AirNZ in 2000/01 but can't remember much about the trip except the Y seats were good enough to sleep all the way home in! (not expecting them to be as good this time around)

I suggest you check your fare bucket class against the BMI earning chart for NZ. You may get FFP points if it is a higher fare and that would be a lot more value than NZ Airpoints.

Regarding the headphones, NZ does provide them but I always bring my own high quality headphones. You can buy a small converter plug 1-2 pin from electronics stores very cheaply. Just tell them what you want to use it for and they will sort you out.

There is always the off chance that someone may be travelling on the same dates so post them and you may get lucky with some guesting you in.

Thanks again Blackcloud, you've been really helpful. And yes, it would be brilliant if I was lucky enough to be guested - but I know Dec/Jan are busy travel periods so I shall have to wait and see :)

Edit- I could earn 1 mile/mile travelled with BMI (fare classes M and Q) - if I add up the km quoted by AirNZ and convert to miles it gives me about 23000, if I use some random airline mileage calculator it gives me 50,000! Reckon the former to be more likely - and it would give me some free flights to use in Europe/N Africa - thanks Blackcloud for the advice.

If you are flying Y, US Immigration won't let you access the Lounge . You will need to have a J class Boarding pass. Sorry about that.



http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/transiting-via-la

Not true that rule applies to the thru flight NZ1/2: as OP will be transiting onto NZ19 then usual rules apply, or have things changed recently?

Using the Great Circle Mapper and pluggin in the route using the Flight codes is get 23364mi. See here

This is what I was assuming- that I'll have to clear security, collect baggage and check in at the AirNZ transit desk near reclaim, then clear security again and then maybe use the lounge. I'm aware I won't be able to on return as I am on NZ2 in Y.

Blackcloud Thanks again. I will be silver when I return home for sure and will be able to enjoy using the miles. Already called AirNZ UK to change the associated FFP number and totally confused the lovely lady on the other end of the phone who was quite convinced I would be better off sticking with Airpoints!

Further to this, I called AirNZ last week and after a chat about how BD would benefit me more, the agent changed the associated FF number from my AP one to my new BD one. The flights are still showing up in myairnz, but there doesn't seem to be any way I can see whether the change has gone through (BD website will not show anything not booked through them) - is this possible without phoning AirNZ again? Or should I just double-check when I arrive at the airport?

Also, I was looking at my seat selection via the main AirNZ.co.uk website, and some new seats appeared on one of my NZ19 legs - was hoping to change but when I tried to save the change it said there was an error with the system, and if I try through myairnz it doesn't even show the seat maps, just says there's an error. Has been like this since Friday so does anyone know if it is just me (and have I FUBARed it by removing AP number) or is it widespread?

Thanks all.

if you have removed your ap number from the booking then it should not show up in myairnz. If you keep trying to acess the booking via myairnz then there is a chance the system will re-add ap as your ffp for the booking. At the end of the day it makes no difference whatsoever what ffp is on the booking until the moment you step on the plane and the doors are shut..!

On check in ask the agent to double check what ffp is on the booking, updatee as required and double check what is listed on the bottom left side of your boarding pass, thats the one that matters.

in ref to seat map I have no idea why more seats are showing now, maybe some people have changed or maybe airnz is opening more up, however that usually does not happen until 48 hours before departure. If you have a seat number in mind just call airnz if your worried and ask them to check if its availible..!

Thanks QTFlyer, I will sort it all at check in :)

A bit of a cheeky request I'm afraid - as I mentioned in my earlier post I'll be transiting LAX on Sun 18th Dec and have a 3h30 stopover (1915-2245) to change from NZ1 to NZ19.

Are any *G FTers transiting LAX on the same day who would be happy to guest me into the Koru Club? I quite understand if no-one is willing to but if you are I would be extremely grateful :D Not only would the shower be hugely appreciated, but due to a spate of head injuries I've been a little under the weather recently and the prospect of a bit of chill out time and space in the lounge after the stress of transit would be extremely welcome.

Very excited about my holiday now as due to the aforementioned injuries and huge problems they caused for a while I was convinced I would be cancelling everything and claiming on the insurance - luckily I am now well enough to go so am frantically trying to get back into holiday planning mode :D

Sorry, I can't help you with your lounge access request (if you were travelling 5 days later I could have :) ) but I suggest you add your itinerary to the NZ itinerary thread (and of course have a look through there to see if someone already has posted compatible flights. Or I believe there's a general FT itineraries thread (ie not specific to AirNZ) somewhere.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip :)

Thanks mad_atta, I'll post over there too. Hope you (and all the other FTers) have a great Christmas :)

Hi again,

Very overdue, but just thought I'd stick my head in and thank everyone again for their help and advice with regard to both seating and FF program.

I credited all my flights to BD, was made Silver, and have now status matched to BA Silver due to the BD takeover. So that was an excellent move and I am definitely going to enjoy the fruits of that on several European hops :)

Quick TR in terms of seating:

NZ1 LHR-LAX was definitely my best flight in terms of seating. I was in 58K and was definitely glad of the extra space at the side of the seat and enjoyed the new IFE. Had a wonderful view of a tiny bit of sun creeping over the horizon as we crossed Canada, and a great view of LA lit up as we came into land.

Being at the back of the plane was a bit of a disadvantage when it came to US immigration, and although we had arrived a little ahead of schedule the queues were very long. I finally got through, picked up my bags and was selected for a random bag check as I headed for the transit desk. Happy to comply and then dropped my bag off. Headed straight to departures security with a very long line stretching downstairs, but at least didn't have to queue to pick up a boarding pass.

Paid my $65 to enter the Koru Club after security and was very relieved to be able to shower, and then hop on the wifi and grab some food. The KC attendants escorted us right to the gate and I was therefore one of the first Y pax on NZ19 to RAR. Had a window seat which was probably 25K judging from the below, and found it fairly cramped and uncomfortable. However, having not slept at all on the previous flight I crashed out during takeoff and even missed the immigration cards for RAR that were handed out with drinks. After a couple hours uncomfortable sleep I found the IFE more limited but enjoyed looking out the window when we hit daylight, and had a great view of the west side of Rarotonga as we landed.

Flew that evening with Air Rarotonga to Aitutaki and managed to get seat 1A (I think) - the front single seat by the door. It was clearly a locals flight with people going home or to visit family, and I loved the kid sat near me who did a fine job of playing Rudolph the red nosed reindeer on his ukelele. Great views of the island as we came in to land and I enjoyed the 'airport' with its exclusive seating area for Pacific Resort (again, I think) customers! Not used by me I hasten to add!
Again got a single window seat on the return journey a few days later, this time we took off to the north and circled back southward along the western side of the reef, so once again awesome views of the lagoon and motus. Loved the drinks and lolly service on these flights!

Flying on from RAR to AKL on the same 767 a week later I'd managed to snag an exit row seat and was very happy with the space there :) Got off the plane fast at AKL and was through customs/immigration and bag checked to domestic in about 10-15 mins. I think I spent longer waiting for the inter-terminal bus!
Had a great domestic flight down from AKL to ZQN with great views of Mt Cook in the sunshine, and then spent the next 2.5 weeks driving south and then north to AKL (ZQN-Manapouri-Invercargill (Stewart Island) - Catlins - Wanaka- FJ - Punakaiki - Marahau - Collingwood - Nelson - Wellington - Napier - Turangi - Te Awamutu - Tairua - Coromandel - AKL). Awesome.

Returned my rental slightly early and then paid my $55 or so to wait in the KC rather than spend similar amounts on food, drink and wifi. Brilliant to chill out in the hammocks and also have a shower. My only regret was not picking up a water bottle in the shops as I walked over to the gate.
The worst flight of all was the NZ2 return AKL -LHR. Nothing went wrong, it was just rammed. I was in 56 G I think, and 56F was an extremely tall guy who had clearly picked a terrible seat (for him) in the hope of getting an upgrade. The transit area at LAX was v busy but AirNZ have clearly done as much as possible to try and make pax comfortable, with food and drink available and asking for pax to come up in small groups to go through the immigration necessaries. Unfortunately this was a free for all and still required queuing, however the immigration officials are clearly used to exhausted pax and were very pleasant. Free wi-fi was offered but the number of pax using it clearly overwhelmed the system and it only worked intermittently.

Returning on board my zombie expression must have given me away to the flight attendant I passed, as she commented that I was clearly a through passenger. Fortunately Mr 56F had bagged himself another seat (I saw him at reclaim) and the empty seat next to me remained, although it was often used by one of the toddlers belonging to the family in the DE seats and row in front.
Finally arrived back in London to -2C, and a few weeks later, a $120 speeding fine from NZ Police. Oops! :(

Good to see you enjoyed yourself xmassheep and thanks for the short trip report.:)