AKL-ORD NZ26/27 thoughts
 

Hey all,

Apologies for those that have done this flight but just landed from NZ27 for a 5 night trip in J. Overall its impressive and amazing to be able to get to ORD with one flight! There is something nice about seeing the bird that will take you all the way home!

Impressive service - but again this was due to the FSM and the J crew which were exceptional in both legs (esp NZ27 home).

ORD - terminal V is old but check in was efficient. Security line was long (only one lane open).. so that took about 40 mins. The SAS lounge as previously mentioned is pretty dismal but again was not worth the hassle of going to polaris in terminal 1 and then the trek back through to 5 with security lines.

Warning: The ORD crew do not seem used to the upgrade systems - our J cabin had 4 spare seats (2 non functioning so were not sold).. and 2 empty seats. The FSM was not sure why they were empty (we had 2 friends in PE with upgrades not clear) and he said there were "crew" on the plane that would have also loved to have them. He mentioned that the days of "on board" upgrades are well and truly gone (I asked if as FSM he could just bring people up). My advice would be if you have an upgrade not clear.. keep bugging the guys at the ORD gate desk about it.

New "curated" sleep experience with Aotea balms, tea, nuts and chocolate was nice but a but gimecky (I still tried of of course).

Interestingly.. at check in they were asking if anyone would defer their flight and opt to not fly "going tomorrow" (no direct flight)... when I got on board the captain looked like he was doing manual calculations (!) - as it turns out the weather was worse than expected and we needed more fuel. With a plane of 250pax (unlike the 160-170 of NZ1/2)... it was getting quite tight (hence the pax offer).. they got more fuel but had to offload bags (this was not announced to pax even at landing). There was a potential for diversion to NAN but again this worked out OK.

Arrived 1 hour late, had to take a slower flight path (i.e. we could not make up time).

Also.. QF was a nightmare (I went for a work trip so a lot of Aussie colleagues) .. 2 MEL-LAX flights cancelled on the way over and on the way home each day a LAX-MEL flight and then DFW-MEL flight cancelled. At least 3 J pax had been rebooked onto our flight from QF. A few other Aussies clearly wanted to avoid the QF nightmares of late and enjoyed the J product on NZ and lack of US transfer.

I thought upgrades were handled by Auckland (or some other team)?

Yes, the upgrade list and service control for every flight is handled by AKL. It's quite possible in this scenario that there was a miscommunication between AKL/ORD regarding the two spare seats.

wow I didn't know this - also why I like this forum so much!

I’m going to New Zealand next fall, going from Boston. I’m planning to go in business class, but have read several times that Air New Zealand is terrible, and I know very pricey to boot. Could you comment? I recently flew BA in the new club suites and it was great…thank you.

There are literally hundreds of reviews of Air NZs BP product on here.. There certainly a vocal minority these days who believe it's the worst product in the world, whereas the rest still believe it offers one of the best sleeps in the sky - and for a 17 hour night flight that's certainly a critical aspect to be looking for.

Is it the best product out there? No its not. You will however have to decide for yourself as to whether you're going to believe those who think they're travel influencers or believe the honest reviews from others.

In terms of in-flight service its miles ahead of what you'll get on US carriers such as Hawaiian or United flying to NZ.

The seat definitely is due for an update, but the thick mattress pad is a nice touch (almost an inch thick of memory foam).

As @sbiddle notes, there are many reviews. As a starter, I watched this just yesterday:

Also need to consider how you value journey time & transits, for the trip you want to take. From North America to NZ, would say Air NZ is best. Better than NA airlines and not 4+ backtrack via Aussie in QF.

Sure could also get from NA to NZ on EK, QR, SQ, etc the whole way but the journey time is a lot longer. But if time is less of an issue one could say they provide the best NA to NZ flights.

Other than SQ and QR long haul J I have no real comparison. Flown QF only up to 5 hours. The sleep quality and service on NZ are excellent, but I like others hate the reverse herringbone configuration and lack of direct lie flat ability. A recent trip to MEL on QF A330 may be realise how pleasant it is to actually easily see outside and have some privacy!

Next Fall you may be able to fly QF from JFK which would be an appealing option from Boston, hopefully the direct compeition for NZ will bring the J flights down. For me between the two it would be price and flight timing !

I was flying AKL-ORD origin to my destination so a direct flight wins hands down - it would have to be a terrible carrier or J seat for me not to ever take the most direct route.

Tangential question, But does ANZ undersell this ORD to AKL sector similar to the NYC Route?

Yes. But I'm pretty sure pre Covid this differed depending on the time of year.

In many ways it wasn't really a big issue as it was rare for flights to be chokka Pre Covid.. Most airlines didn't routinely have full flights every day except during Xmas and school holidays.

I flew on NZ27 last week. Seemed full. Check in was slow as they seemed to struggle with Americans not applying for an ETA. Great crew and the food is improved with the new crockery and cutlery. For me it is simply too long. 16 hours almost entirely in the dark. Nothing appealed on the film list. LAX-AKL is about as long as I want to be on a plane. ORD was packed. The security nearest NZ check in barely moved (I queues to check in for over 30 minutes in premium queue) as three check ins required phone calls. I used security in the central area as it has a premium line. SAS lounge is IKEA-basic. The terminal is too narrow to fulfil its functions - long walks and people sprawled everywhere. NZ won’t be seeing me on the JFK as OrD was too, too long on o e plane for me. I prefer the walk from UA to TBIT to stretch my legs. BTW I arrived on NZ4 and was the first person at the immigration booths. I was in my LAX hotel an hour after touchdown! This has happened twice to me now with the main drag being hotel shuttle buses stuck in the Tom Bradley mess.

Hopefully the T9 and T0 projects and the roading that goes with those helps.

But I've noticed the same thing ex-YVR: sending out empty seats in Skycouch, PE or J when there are upgrade bids made. In one instance it meant my husband left in Y despite a solid big for PE (with the seat next to me empty). In November it was my own bid for a Skycouch and two of those went out empty.