TheJayHatch

As a kid I used to hate AKL-LHR via LAX (with the refuelling stop in HNL!) as there was absolutely nothing to see out of the windows (unless my dad gave me a Halcion )

TheJayHatch

Think this is a typo...!

pauldb

If you've misunderstood, Firipu correctly meant Air New Zealand no longer fly LHR-HKG-AKL.

cavemanzk

Good thing the IFE has improved since then

TheJayHatch

Apologies, yes - I had forgotten about that (as I never did it!)

corporate-wage-slave

The comment was written in the context of someone starting in Europe, going to NZ, and having the choice of two directions. Going east via Asia the day speeds up the whole way; going west via the Pacific the hours slow down until you need the International Date Line to catch up. The upshot is that if you are from Europe going trans Pacific you are likely to wake up about 3 hour out of LAX you then have a tedious 10 hours, followed by getting clobbered for the next 3 days. Go via LHR-HKG, spend a night there, and you should be fine.

TheJayHatch

Oh my - the large screen of which one could (aged 10) see 45% max of the screen!

I still needle my father for feeding me a sleeping pill and thus missing the end of Ferris Beuller's Day Off. Missing the denouement cost me a lot of playground collateral.

Hubbabridge

I have been doing the LHR-AKl on and off for 40 years and that trans-pacific Lax to Akl has always been tedious especially in the days when you where thrown off the plane at either PPT or HNL at some ungodly hour for 2-3 hours and the "new flight map" on the big screen spent 8 hour flying towards 'EUA in Tonga and about 4 flying away from it towards NZ.

However if you an alliance agnostic and flying in J, NZ has the best food and the priciest product. Qatar has good seats and service and OK hub in Doha. CX has fine service, ok food and good hub in HKG. Emirates I rank below QR. KE has good food (I love the bibimbap), the fastest flight ex LHR (not on the way back) ok seat, ok hub and fine service. Thai ok service , ok food ok hub. SQ good hub, good food and fine service. BA we all know and China Southern I have never tried. Best value has to be QR esp ex EU/EEA

choosethedrew

Where do you rank SQ in this? ^

Hubbabridge

In the antepenultimate sentence!

wolf72

SQ at the top of the list, Air NZ a close second if we are talking about direct flights into Auckland without a stop in Australia though some SQ flight. SQ is also the most expensive airliner flying out of SEA to Auckland. SQ flight leaves at night if memory serves me correct but excellent airport hotel outside the terminal.

Cathay would be 3rd for me simply because their standards for meals and service has dropped in recent times.

Malaysia Airlines has a daily direct flight to Auckland as well at sensible prices departing in the early morning at 8am if I am not mistaken and it uses the 330 with a new business class seats. MH have a 380 flight from LHR to KUL that lands in the evening. You can check into the airport hotel outside the terminal for a good night's sleep and then hop on the morning flight to Auckland (10 hours).

choosethedrew

How did I not see that!

CHCflyer

I have just come up from NZ and am currently in the LHR Hilton T5. Been up since 1. Used a mix of EK and QF (on QF codes and ticket stock though - I am QF platinum). EK 380 seat/beds are by far the comfiest compared to both the EK 777 and QF 330 I also took. Also the foot tunnel is bigger so my feet don't get so hot. The Malaysian 330 seats have a small hot foot tunnel and the seats are somewhat lumpy - I spent last weekend in HKG flying from AKL and back with them.
i do Europe once a year from AKL and however I do it I simply end up wrecked.
and I wish those QR fares were accessible ex-AKL: our cheapest J-fares are easily double.

Mwenenzi

So just do a AKL-Eu on a one ticket. And then Eu-NZ-Eu returns. You would not be first to do that

flatlander

Unfortunately for annual trips that is pushing the edges of the ticket validity period, it's possible but you would have to plan ahead a lot. For several trips each year, it is much more plausible.