On my flight to NZ for the 1983-84 trip (actually, I was bicycling there w/ my first husband for our honeymoon for a few months), Air New Zealand actually had us roll our bikes right up to the ticket counter if you can believe that! All we had to do was wrap our bicycle chains to keep the grease from getting on other stuff. I recall thinking, “Wow! This is the most amazing treatment!” I’m sure no one allows that anymore! :)

Anyway, My husband & I are hoping to go to NZ within the next year or so since he’s never been and is ready to see for himself why I’ve always loved it so much there. :) It is my hope that we can fly Air New Zealand.

I really loved this blog entry, and am already seeing myself stretched out in one of those wonderful seats!

Thanks so much for the indepth review! I look forward to reading your thoughts on the “premium economy” part!

Cheers!
Kath

ANZ wouldn’t waste a new 787 on those pacific routes. They may retire the 767s for 777s though. Those 767s were pretty old looking. Only business class had any sort of TVs I think and those were tiny compared to modern offerings.

The 777 is too big, so if they’re going to replace the 767s, it’s going to have to be a 787 for capacity reasons. Maybe not anytime soon, but that has to be the plan, I’d think. BTW, they have upgraded the interiors of the 767s. There is now AVOD at every seat. It’s not a terrible experience at all.

Doug Swalen wrote:

But to make the argument from a “business traveler count” perspective just sets off my BS alarm. Not because the statement isn’t true that there are fewer business travelers, but because it’s irrelevent since they ARE upgrading their Economy offerings on those flights.

No, the business traveler thing was specifically regarding the lie flat seats in business, not coach changes. With the 767 in a 2-3-2 configuration, it would be pretty hard to actually put the bed on there. Disingenuous is probably the last word I’d ever use to describe these guys.

Doug Swalen wrote:

BTW, I didn’t read the comments in the upgrade thread but did anyone note that the new coach lie down capability, and the ability to pay for the third seat at half price, is likely going to put an end, at least initially, to people being able to lie down on empty non-paid seats?

This is only on small subset of the coach seats – 66 out of 240, so it won’t ruin anything. They do, however, already have the Twin Seat program where you can pay to guarantee the seat next to you is empty when you fly.

What annoys me about ANZ’s response is how disingenuous it is. I totally understand the argument that a once a week route wouldn’t be on their high priority list and I understand that it’s mostly leisure travel argument (though on the flights I was on it seemed more like relatives flying to/from their homeland…many being grandparents…high wheel chair count sitting at the gangway upon landing…at least 10).

But to make the argument from a “business traveler count” perspective just sets off my BS alarm. Not because the statement isn’t true that there are fewer business travelers, but because it’s irrelevent since they ARE upgrading their Economy offerings on those flights. In other words, because they aren’t just refitting the business seats, but all the seats including coach, totally destroys the “business traveler count” argument. It really isn’t about business travelers at all. It’s about upgrading the flights that generate the most money regardless of class. And the Pacific routes don’t cut it. I wish ANZ would just come out and be hones with the “You’re not worthy” argument instead of trying to finesse this as some sort of business class argument.

BTW, I didn’t read the comments in the upgrade thread but did anyone note that the new coach lie down capability, and the ability to pay for the third seat at half price, is likely going to put an end, at least initially, to people being able to lie down on empty non-paid seats? If I had paid for that third seat at half price I’d be pissed if some bloke, who didn’t pay, got to lie down anyway because the seat was empty…

I totally hear you on sleeping while flying. I got maybe four hours sleep on the flight. The stopover at Samoa makes getting a full 8 hours problematic to begin with. But the slight turbulence going down kept me pretty restless. I may have to try Ambien on my next long haul flight.

I had mixed feelings about reading about the cabin refresh ANZ is doing. Sure, the seats look wonderful. But for me, the places I would travel on ANZ are going to be the last routes that get upgraded, if they get upgraded at all. I could see ANZ carving out an excemption for the once a week flights they do to Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, etc…similar to the exception United carves out for upgrading its Hawaii bound 777s…

Bubble and squeak is fried mashed potatoes and vegetables – traditional English breakfast dish, usually made from leftovers from the previous day’s main meal. Try it if you get offered it on the way back.

Yeah, the flight attendant explained it to me, but when she said “bacon” I forgot about everything else! Maybe I’ll give it a shot on the way home.

FBKSan wrote:.

How did you feel about the flip-bed? I’ve not tried one, but it seems like kind of a pain. If you only want to go into (and out of) bed mode once, then not a big deal. But it would get old if one wanted to flip more than once, no?

The flip bed is great because it’s more comfortable (and the new beds will be even more padded). If you don’t want to go to bed, you can easily recline and get a very nice position, but when it’s bed time, I just went to the lav, came back, and it was all made up for me.

JayB wrote:

Great read, Cranky. Sure more interesting than something on codesharing at Harrisburg but still, I love them all!

Ah come on, that was for the Harrisburg blog!

ttjoseph wrote:

Trying to get downgraded? Do you think there will be Y+ passenger who wouldn’t love to be given a free J seat if you asked them?

Yeah, I’m sure the informal downgrade would be pretty easy, but I’d rather just do it the formal way.

Frank wrote:
Good job of disclosure on the freebies and the special treatment — helps differentiate what the “average Joe” gets versus the VIP writers.

+1
Wasn’t sure if you were being sarcastic there at times, but I too appreciate the effort to note what we should and should not expect on trips like this.

No sarcasm intended. I think that this blog is going the way all travel-related blogs should go: total disclosure, then let the reader make their own decisions. Hat’s off to Cranky for taking the high road — and for having an ethics tab.