SFO-AKL : New Biz Seats?
 

Hello,

I need to fly to AKL from SFO and I have a 2 part question related to this :

1) Do the 747's that fly this route have the new lie flat J seats ?

2) Is it better (hard product wise) to fly on the new 77W's from LAX instead?

They have the same lie-flat J seats that were installed in the aircraft in 2006.
Unless you specifically have time to burn, I wouldn't subject myself to a LAX transit just to fly on the 773, even though the "version 2" J seats are indeed better than "version 1".

New 773 J seats are certainly better than the previous version.

Yes, especially when the version 1 J seats are in terrible shape on some aircraft.

IFE is also far superior

I have J award on NZ002 AKL-LAX at December, so based on comments above, it has the "new" Business Premier? Also are they that much better than the 747s? I have never flown NZ BP before, only C on 767s.

Imo the new BP product kills the older product on the 747/772 - its still a good product but in comparsion the 773 is far superior from all aspects.

Excellent. I guess it sorts of justifies that I have a 6:15 hour transit from SYD to LAX then. Not that I have a choice anyway, as it is J award from BD. Now I have to figure out how to kill those hours.

Granted, the seat and IFE on the 773 is much better, but I must admit that I miss the cozy feeling of the nose section on the 747!

My last J flight the IFE screen was basically hanging loose. it did not stay in place and then stopped working completely. Flight was full so couldn't move. I had some movies on my laptop so it was fine (and it was a points upgrade so did not make a fuss) but if I had paid full fare I would be annoyed. Its didn't seem like a random glitch, more like poor maintenance as it was clearly not a new problem.

I transit AKL all the time and it can be an effort to keep occupied for that duration. Why not go for a stroll and check out the Domestic Koru Lounge. It really isn't worth bothering going into downtown Auckland.

The 773 is so much nicer than the 772. Personally, I prefer the mini J cabin.

What date you flying?

I flew both this past summer YVR-AKL-LAX - the 773 wins in all aspects.

Excellent flights with NZ.

There are 772s, 773s and 747s on the LAX-AKL-LAX route, NZ2 is usually operated by a 773 (looking at December this year, at least).

If your flight is operated by a 773, then you have the new seats, if it would be a 772 or a 747 then you would have the "old" seat - which still is a great seat.

I haven't tried the new C yet, but am looking forward to do so in December. ^

Does anyone know if the 772 or the 747 have the new mattress in business class yet?

My understanding is they are still the old seats, and as far as I can tell there's no plan by ANZ to retrofit the older fleet with the new seats.