I’ve booked my parents on it, my brother on it, dozens of clients on it, but now it was my turn. For years I have been wanting to fly Air New Zealand from Los Angeles to London and a trip to Ukraine finally gave me the chance.
Air New Zealand moved from Terminal 2 to the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. The impetus behind the move was the new Star Alliance Lounge, which is operated by Air New Zealand. A check-in agent cheerfully checked me in and offered three boarding passes, checking me as far as Beirut (via London and Cairo). I spent just a few moments in the lounge prior to departure: I had arrived late and security was a nightmare. I love the outdoor terrace in the lounge.
Boarding commenced on time at 3:40pm. All passengers boarded through Door 2 with business passengers directed left or right based on seat assignment and economy passengers right. The Air New Zealand 777-300 has a nice entryway with mood lighting and wood laminate floors.
The Los Angeles to London market is packed with competition, making Air New Zealand’s presence confusing on the surface. But it soon became clear why it maintains this Fifth Freedom Route: the majority of passengers in business class were transiting passengers from Auckland.
Air New Zealand 002
Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR)
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Depart: 04:10 PM
Arrive: 10:40 AM+1
Duration: 10hr, 30min
Aircraft: 777-300
Seat: 5K (Business Class)
Air New Zealand Business Premier Seat
Air New Zealand has a 1-2-1 herringbone configuration on its 777-300 in BusinessPremier. The 44-seat cabin featured white seats which look remarkably clean after many years of service.
In lie-flat mode the bed reaches 6’4” and Air New Zealand does offer quality bedding including a mattress pad, blanket, and plush pillow. FAs will prepare your bed upon request. While these seats are not ideal for couples traveling together or those who wish to converse with their neighbor, they are comfortable. Cabin temperatures, sadly, were not comfortable. I awakened several times over the Atlantic very warm and had trouble falling alseep. There are no personal air nozzles.
I cannot help but to note that though the seats have been well-maintained, the cabin is showing wear. My tray table was damaged and the area around the IFE console was taped. The base of the seat also showed wear along the wall. The passenger’s seat in front of me malfunctioned prior to pushback and mechanics were brought onboard to make repairs. That delayed pushback by about 25 minutes but we still landed on time. Takeoff from the east runway at 4:50p.
Air New Zealand Amenity Kit
The Air New Zealand amenity kits doubles as an iPad case: I love functional cases like that. The kit itself was very basic with socks, ear plugs, a dental kit, eye mask, socks and Antipodes cremes.
Air New Zealand Lavatories
I appreciate the lavatories on Air New Zealand (at least the two in business). Not only are they clean with real towels, but are themed. One had “chandeliers” and the other had a humorous picture of an airline window across from a real window.
Air New Zealand IFE
I suppose you could say NZ’s in-flight-entertainment starts with the safety video. I’ve written about several past videos as well as the current edition which fuses humor with instruction.
Air New Zealand’s Kia Ora IFE system is comprehensive and features a collection of worldwide movies and television programs. The library also includes great music and a number of games. A touchscreen button called “Food & Drink” presumably provides a way to order food from your seat, but each time I tapped it a “The kitchen is closed” message would appear. Noice-cancelling headphones are provided.
No Wi-Fi is available onboard.
Air New Zealand Food & Drink
FAs offered a hot towel and choice of beverage shortly after I found my seat. Menus were already waiting at each seat.
One FA donned a chef uniform and took meal orders throughout the cabin shortly after takeoff. Meal service was overall very satisfactory, with one minor disappointment. Service began with mixed nuts and a drink. The mixed nut dish was tiny (see picture below) but a lot more food would come.
The duck appetizer was okay, though it is not my favorite bird. I always think of Donald Duck whenever I am eating duck…The bread served with it was tremendous – both garlic and olive bread.
All four main course options sounded delicious. Cod is one of my favorite fish types and I find fish is always more reliable than red meat, so I ordered it. It did not disappoint. The orzo and peas were perfect accompaniments and the pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top added a lot of flavor.
Next up was a small cheese course with fig relish and crackers.
Finally, a warm cherry tart with vanilla chocolate ice cream which tasted as good as it looked.
My minor disappointment: no espresso-based coffee drinks onboard. I had to settle for a hot chocolate, which nevertheless proved very satisfactory. The meal service was also slow – the entire process took about two hours, which is far to long for a 10-hour overnight flight.
While I was waiting for my bed to be prepared, I noticed the mid-flight snack station had already been set up in the business class galley. For those still hungry, a warmed bagel with bacon, spinach, and mustard was also available.
Delicious Breakfast
About 75 minuets prior to landing breakfast service began. I found breakfast even better than dinner. The fruit bowl with yogurt was nothing special, but I appreciated the fruit smoothie (though no refills were available). The highlight, though, was a delicious cheese omelet with some surprisingly good tomatillo salsa. I would rate this as one of the best omelets I have ever had on a plane.
Air New Zealand Service
I was surprised to learn that Air New Zealand has a dedicated Los Angeles-based crew for the London flight. Eduardo and Susan primarily took care of me and both did a fabulous job. Both were friendly and provided polished service. Gregg served as the onboard chef and was also very nice.
As we approached Heathrow I was treated to the clearest views I have ever experienced of central London:
We landed precisely on “shed-jewel” at 10:40a.
How I Booked
I booked this trip using Aeroplan. While I was on a longer trip, the LA to London flight is 55K miles in business class. No fuel surcharges are levied on Air New Zealand bookings. This flight is also available for 88K r/t using ANA (with fuel surcharges), 70K United one-way (no fuel surcharges), 55K Singapore KrisFlyer (with fuel surcharge), or 63K Avianca Lifemiles (no fuel surcharge).
CONCLUSION
Sometimes the problem with great expectations is that even when they are met, you feel disappointed they were not exceeded. I expected a good seat, great service, and tasty food. I got it. Yet, the disappointments added up: I noted the warm cabin showing its wear, the lack of espresso, and most importantly the lack of Wi-Fi (which NZ has announced intentions to remedy). Quite honestly, I’d take United or American over Air New Zealand just for the Wi-Fi. But don’t let my pickiness scare you away. Air New Zealand is great. That opinion has not changed.
LAX East Runway?
Oh jeez, I knew that one line would draw a comment. We took off on the east side flying west over the ocean before turning…
there is no east side – you have the north and south complex with ALL runways being basically east west oriented. do you mean you took off to the east?
decent review –
I just don’t get why it’s so important to have wifi sorry. Guess it’s my age. Kick back relax and enjoy the flight. I’m not sure who is really so important that they can’t be off grid for 10 hours – particularly if they are going to be asleep for 75% of the flight.
I wish I could go a day or two without wifi — believe me, it is not because I am important, just that internet is the lifeblood of how I provide for my family and pay my mortgage. Clients are impatient and employees unreliable.
Employees are unreliable? Need a reliable one?
Thanks for the great review. All the pictures were very helpful!
Personally I’m with Evan. Wifi is pretty low on my requirements but really nice write-up, thank you.
How would you compare this to virgin atlantic’s 789 Upper Class? They both look so identical (I know nz for there first)
I’ve only flown Virgin Atlantic on the A340 in Upper Class. You can read my review here–
http://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2017/02/07/review-virgin-atlantic-a340-upper-class/
I’d say they’re about a draw. Both good products, but not industry-leading. If using points, Air NZ will be cheaper due to lack of fuel surcharges.
Just a quick correction, the crew are London based – they only do LHR/LAX/LHR
@Matt—the crew identified itself as LA based.
They are LHR base.
No LAX base with air nz.
I think you also need to remember it’s budine class not first class.
I don’t think you should take pictures of the crew either.
Hi nice review, please note that AirNZ upgraded all the 777-300 during 2017, so have sparkling new interiors now and new IFE.
I am travelling with my daughter on the route from Heathrow to LA 777-300er . LA to Auckland with a 6nt stopover in NY
Which seat options if I could chose would be best ? On booking the agent seemed to think window and aisle seats sort of opposite each other. Did he realise I wonder that the centre seats have a removable panel. That said , they don’t look as intimate as Emirates business class centre seats
Hope you can help .. I can’t seem to find a video or pic of the above clearly.
Thank you ..Mum in a quandary
Hi Denise, while these seats are certainly more private in business class than Emirates, I recommend you take the two seats in the center.
I can understand your need for Wi-Fi in regards to your business endeavors. The last time I got Wi-Fi was a couple of years ago on American and it was so slow and spotty that it just wasn’t worth the extra cost. I don’t expect it to be as fast as my Wi-Fi at home, just somewhat reliable. Have you seen Wi-Fi getting better in the skies compared to the early days?
Wi-Fi is getting much better. I’m thankful for that.
Thanks for review
As a New Zealander, just wanted to add in a couple of comments
Air NZ now have WiFi on many of their widebody aircraft – and it is 100% free for all passengers
And as i mentioned back in Feb 2028 (and John Mills followed up) Air NZ do not have a LA based crew, they are London based for the flights between LAX and LHR.
Have you done a flight to NZ yet? Would love to hear how you’ve found the service with Kiwi based crew, plus the domestic flights around New Zealand
I just returned to New Zealand from Shanghai on a B787-9N in Business Class. My feeling after this trip was, again, that Air New Zealand simply isn’t keeping up. Not only was the cabin showing signs of old age, close examination revealed that it was showing signs of inadequate cleaning ( the side seat pocket, when emptied and the plastic base bin removed, was the home of whole and crushed nuts, dust balls and hair). Crew performance was abysmal. Air New Zealand cabin crew have always shown courtesy and good humour as long as you did things their way; I’ve now had two crews who, for example, didn’t observe standard seat/aisle discipline for meal service and in consequence filled the cabin with their scurrying as errors and omissions had to be remedied. I wasn’t offered a dessert with dinner, nor coffee, and had to protest – this wasn’t up to standard. When the coffee came, it came without sugar or sweetener, nor cream; and although the latter was something I didn’t want, I should have had the offer. This is my flagship airline, but I’ve started to avoid it when and where I can. It’s the sum total of these niggles which are driving me away.
Hi there,
How would you compare Air NZ Business Class to Emirates A380 business class? Do you have a blog on this?
I’ve flown twice Dubai – Perth a380 business and absolutely couldn’t fault it! How does Air NZ Business compare?
I prefer the Emirates A380 seat, though both are comfortable and lie-flat. But if flying Dubai to Perth,how would Air NZ fit in?
I’m flying Perth to LA via Auckland airNZ, but could’ve paid a small fortune extra to fly via Dubai with Emirates. Unsure if i’ve made the right choice…!
I’m flying Denver to Auckland and then Sydney back to Denver. I’m debating between American and Air New Zealand. ANZ is significantly cheaper than AA, and there are a couple of things that sound like plusses and minuses for ANZ:
Plusses, all of which are significant:
1. There is more personal space than on AA.
2. The beds sound pretty wonderful.
3. The food and wine selections sound exceptional, if you can live without espresso.
Negatives, of varying levels of significance:
1. The seats don’t sound really adjustable.
2. You can’t easily go back and forth between chair and bed, kind of important if you alternate a lot between dozing and reading/watching TV.
3. Not of huge consequence: There’s the extra stopover in Auckland on the way back.
4. VERY IMPORTANT: I like cool places with air circulation. Between your mention of the warm temperature and the lack of personal air nozzles, I’m hesitant. I suppose I can bring a small fan!
What would you recommend?
Kiwi here, don’t worry about the cabin temp. I fly NZ business a fair bit and you never know what you’re going to get. On Monday coming back from Samoa it was cold, going up it was warm. Before that in July it was just right. Actually on that trip to Singapore there was a spare seat and they made it up into a bed for me so I just alternated between them, perhaps that could be your solution to reading/dozing.
Thanks for the great review with pics. There’s a sale on right now for this route which I’m contemplating.
Re the line through security. I picked up this tip from another blogger who I can’t remember now, but you check your bags in TBIT then walk over to terminal 4 and enter through the AA security checkpoint using your ANZ boarding passes or any valid pass for that matter. The line is usually much shorter. Terminal 4 connects airside with TBIT. I tried it recently and it works fine.