| THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT My flight on Air New Zealand's older 787 product had an average seat and mixed-bag amenities, though I loved the free WiFi, local catering and great service. I was sad to miss the newer planes that now regularly operate this route | 4.0 |
In March 2026, I flew Air New Zealand’s 787 premium economy from Auckland to Hong Kong. I’m trying to find the best premium economy product out there, and Air New Zealand consistently wins awards for being one of the world’s best. Because of this, when I saw that Air New Zealand was running a fare sale while I was planning my trip to Australia, I knew I had to incorporate the airline into my travels.
Air New Zealand started flying their newest 787s mid-last year, and was even flying them to Hong Kong a few days a week. Unfortunately I had time constraints as to when I could get back (and also wasn’t aware the new planes were flying to Hong Kong at time of booking), so I picked a day where I was stuck with one of the airline’s older seats, which debuted in 2014. I’m still excited to write this review, given that a majority of the airline’s fleet still features this older seat, including on all of their 777s – these planes also regularly operate the airline’s longest routes, such as from Auckland to New York, which is a whopping 17 hours.
While Air New Zealand’s older seats aren’t my favourite, I enjoyed the experience, including the local cuisine highlights and great drinks, as well as the free WiFi. However, I found some areas to be a bit underwhelming (such as some of the amenities), and also didn’t find any aspects of the experience to be stand-out over other carriers. Given the tough competition from Qantas which otherwise has my favourite premium economy product, I think Air New Zealand doesn’t quite match, though they’re definitely in my top five.
Here’s my full review, where I’ll detail my experience, as well as how it compares to the growing number of other premium economy products I’ve flown.
Booking Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy
I had to get from Sydney to London, so was excited to see that Air New Zealand was doing a fare sale in January 2026. Since I booked fairly last minute, the most viable destination to get to for me was Hong Kong, where there were a few remaining seats available. I booked a one-way ticket from Auckland to Hong Kong for March 2026, which priced at NZ$1,500 (£653/HK$6,908) in premium economy. That’s among the lower end I’ve seen for an Air New Zealand ticket.
The itinerary was as follows:
11/03/26 Air New Zealand 81 Auckland (AKL) – Hong Kong (HKG) dep. 10:10 arr. 16:20 (Premium Economy)
For what it’s worth, Air New Zealand deserves kudos for making seat selection free even on the cheapest premium economy fares, and I was able to select a window seat for my flight.
I credited the flight to my Air Canada Aeroplan account, my preferred programme for Star Alliance accruals. This earned me 5,690 Aeroplan miles, as well as 1,138 status qualifying credits.
Air New Zealand Premium Economy Ground Experience at Auckland Airport
My journey on Air New Zealand began at Auckland Airport, where I was dropped off by a friend I was seeing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the airline has a dedicated check-in “wing” for business class and premium economy passengers, though in this case I had my mobile boarding pass sorted and was travelling hand-baggage only, so headed straight to immigration.
Air New Zealand Check-in Area at Auckland Airport
You can check up to two checked bags (23 kg each) on Air New Zealand, or bring two carry-ons (up to 14 kg total) plus one personal item.
This was my first time at Auckland Airport in over ten years, and I loved the range of comfortable, publicly available seating. The terminal also felt modern, with nice decor – very similar to my impressions of Sydney Airport’s international terminal when I passed through.
Auckland Airport Terminal
My flight was leaving from gate 15. The airport has 18 jetbridge gates (and five remote gates), and gates 15-18 are the furthest away – you have to go through a long walkway to get to them. As I headed through the walkway, there was a stunning view of gate 15 from the windows, where our Air New Zealand 787 was parked. This was the aircraft that would be taking me to Hong Kong today.
Air New Zealand 787 at Auckland Airport
Boarding was scheduled for 9:30 AM, 40 minutes before our scheduled departure time. I got to the gate area slightly before that, while the gate area was still filling up. There were a couple of infirm passengers that were brought over in buggies, and I remember the buggies being on the large side, as they struggled to U-turn in order to get out of the gate area.
Air New Zealand Gate Area at Auckland Airport
Boarding began quite promptly at 9:30 AM. There were only two lines – one for business class and premium economy, and one for economy. Business class passengers were first invited to board via the queue, and within a couple of minutes premium economy passengers were invited to board as well.
Boarding Air New Zealand’s 787 at Auckland Airport
Air New Zealand Flight NZ81
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Origin: Auckland (AKL) T: I Gate: 15 Dep: 10:10 (10:10)
Destination: Hong Kong (HKG) Gate: 34 Arr: 16:20 (16:10)
Duration: 11 hr 10 min (11 hr)
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Reg: ZK-NZL
Seat: 26A (Premium Economy Class)
I headed onboard Air New Zealand’s 787 through the second set of doors, and turned right towards the premium economy cabin, with the business class cabin being on the left.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Cabin and Seat
Air New Zealand’s 787s feature 33 premium economy seats, laid out across five rows (the front row is missing the window duo on the left side). The cabin isn’t colourful at all, though features recliners in sleek black leather upholstery.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Cabin
While I managed to snag a window seat, this wasn’t my favourite seat in the cabin – I prefer sitting in the back row, where I can stay reclined throughout the flight. None of those seats were available for selection at time of booking, so I booked the left window seat in the penultimate row.
However, in this case I was sat by a group of three that were travelling together, and they were extremely friendly throughout the flight. So I didn’t mind my seat selection at all, and my new friends behind didn’t mind when I reclined either.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Seats 26A and 26C
The seats have a cradle effect, where the seat pan slides forward when you recline. However, I actually found the recline at the seat to be quite limited. I had no issues getting comfortable, though have definitely slept in premium economy seats with much more recline – the below picture shows the seat in fully reclined mode. This is a particular shame since the seats have some of the most seat pitch out of any seat in the industry – the airline advertises 41″ seat pitch in their premium economy cabin, and I felt like this was under-leveraged on the recline front.
There’s a fold-up legrest and a fold-down footrest at each seat as well. The fold-up legrest was comfortable, though I found the fold-up footrest to be hard to use, unless you’re very short.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Recline
The seat controls were situated on the left armrest, and were intuitive. I found the seat control hydraulics to be sturdy, despite the seat’s age.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Seat Controls
Each seat featured a 110V power port. Additionally, there was a USB-A port at each seat as well.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Power Ports
A bi-fold tray table folded out of the right armrest, and I found it to be sturdy.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Tray Table
As you’ll see from the cabin photo above, the storage at these seats is entirely limited to the seatback pocket. I also didn’t find there to be much else in the way of seat features, unlike what you’ll find at some of the more modern seats in the industry. I would’ve wished to see a storage compartment in the armrest between seats, or below the TV screen, or a reading light, etc.. Cathay Pacific released their A350 premium economy seats only two years after this seat was first introduced, and Qantas introduced their current premium economy seat in 2017 – it’s mind-boggling to see how much more advanced those seats are from an innovation perspective compared to this one.
Air New Zealand’s newer 787s have a seat that also features 41″ seat pitch, and there are more modern seat features – the seat is fixed-shell (so doesn’t recline into the space of the person behind), and has more storage options and modern features such as USB-C charging. While I’d love to try it out one day to verify, even in that newer seat I don’t spot any groundbreaking seat features.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Economy and Skycouch
During boarding I had the chance to check out the economy class cabin, and particularly was curious about the Skycouch seats. On Air New Zealand, select rows in economy are branded as “Skycouch”, and have a fold-up legrest that connects to the seatback in front. The idea is that you’ll get a full sleeping surface, and can purchase all three seats for yourself, you and your partner, or you and two children.
Air New Zealand 787 Economy Class Skycouch
The crewmember showing me the seat only had time to flip up one of the footrests for me, though the space allotted looked wider than I was expecting. Most people will probably will stick out into the aisle if you lay across three seats, though you’ll have upgraded bedding here as well.
Air New Zealand is known for innovating and monetising in economy, especially given the length of many of their flights. They’ll actually debut a full sleeping-pod style concept called Skynest later this year, which economy class passengers can reserve at an extra cost (NZ$495/£215/HK$2,273) for four hours.
Air New Zealand 787 Economy Class Skycouch
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Amenities
Back at my seat, I found the largest pillow I’ve ever seen in premium economy. Air New Zealand gives premium economy passengers business class pillows, and this was an incredibly plush and large pillow. It was almost unpractically large, since I found it difficult to wedge the pillow between my head and the fuselage (my preferred way to sleep in premium economy).
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Pillow
The blanket, on the other hand, was a bit of a letdown – it was very similar to what you’d typically find in economy.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Blanket
Additionally, there was another part of the amenities provided that was below my expectations. In premium economy, I’m quite used to being handed an amenities pouch that I can re-used. While I still use the pen and socks provided in the amenity kit to this day, I otherwise found the cardboard pouch to be overly rudimentary, with just a dental kit and earplugs to supplement an otherwise underwhelming feature. This is a novelty element to me at the end of the day, though the little things in the experience do add up.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Amenity Kit
The headphones were better and had decent sound quality. These planes don’t feature Bluetooth audio, so the headphones do go a long way.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Headphones
Additionally, I also found a menu at my seat, which I’ll go through later in the review.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Menu
Overall, I found amenities to be a mixed bag. The pillow was the best I’ve seen in its class, the headphones were roughly what I’d expect, and everything else was a bit underwhelming. In terms of getting comfortable (especially on some of the airline’s longer flights), I’d probably advise the airline to first invest in a better blanket.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Entertainment System
My flight on Air New Zealand’s 787 featured their older entertainment system. Longtime readers will know I’m not to be trusted with entertainment selection reviews, though there were some good selections in here. Considering that this is a last-generation seat, I was also pleased to see that the entertainment system was responsive throughout the flight.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Entertainment System
Taking off from Auckland Airport
During the boarding process, there was a cabin crew member that came round to take meal orders for elite members. Apart from a hello at the door, the only time we were welcomed onboard was when we received a hot towel after the doors were closed.
While Air New Zealand advertises a pre-departure beverage of New Zealand sparkling wine, water or orange juice, I didn’t receive this on this flight – instead all that I had was a bottle of water waiting at my seat. The crew were otherwise excellent, so I’m not sure if I just missed it (I don’t believe my seatmate was served a pre-departure beverage either).
At 10:05 AM the cabin doors were closed, and we pushed back bang on time. I was able to see the United 777 parked next to us, which had just pulled in from the 12h flight from San Francisco (it was also 26 years old…wow!).
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Wing View of United 777
The safety video was screened, though I noted that it was extremely quiet. Air New Zealand’s current safety video
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Safety Video
I hadn’t been to Auckland since before I started blogging, so my eyes were glued out the window to the traffic there. The airport gets a wide range of planes, including from United, Air Canada, American Airlines, and Korean Air, as well as (obviously) various Air New Zealand widebody aircraft.
Taxiing at Auckland Airport
We took off just after 10:20 AM, and while the Port of Auckland was on the other side of the aircraft, my seatmate pointed out sights such as Rangitoto Island. I’d so love to be back in New Zealand for a proper visit in the future, given how young I was when I’d last properly been.
Taking off from Auckland Airport
At this point, mood lighting was turned on in order to prepare for the first meal service.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Cabin upon Takeoff
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Lavatories
I quite like flying the 787 generally (despite marginally preferring the A350), though one of the plus sides of flying the 787 in premium economy is that it usually has its own dedicated lavatories. While looking at the seatmap I’m wondering if this lavatory was actually reserved for business class, we were invited to use the two lavatories at the front of the cabin if we wished, making for a 16.5:1 lavatory ratio for 33 passengers (business class passengers have a further two at the front).
The lavatories even played music, which was a funky touch. There was Aotea Manuka hand and body wash available.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Lavatories
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy WiFi
One of the perks of flying this Air New Zealand 787 was that there was WiFi onboard. Not only that, but it was free. Hear me rightly – this isn’t superfast Starlink WiFi, and in fact it cut out entirely for a couple of hours once we were above northern Australia. However, I was quite pleased to have WiFi to connect to, and it even worked on as many devices as we wanted.
When working, WiFi measured 4.61 Mbps down and 4.75 Mbps up – definitely usable, especially given it was free. Air New Zealand has signed up to the Starlink programme, so we should see onboard superfast WiFi in the near future.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Meal Service
Around half an hour after takeoff and not long after the seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew came down with a drinks service in the cabin. I was curious to try a local wine, and when my seatmate (whom I had made friends with at this point) ordered a New Zealand pinot noir rosé that the crew had to go into business class to fetch, I decided I might as well ask for a glass as well.
His travel companions proceeded to ask for a bloody mary, and he asked for one as well. At this point the crewmember serving asked me if I wanted one as well – how rude would I be to say no!? The bloody mary was made of a tasty premade mix, though I appreciated the fresh celery stalk that went in.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Bloody Mary
Later in the flight (while the meal was being served), the crewmember serving me came back with the aforementioned wine, and I asked whether I could take a photo. Much like the bloody mary, I enjoyed the wine as well, and appreciate the local wines that the airline stocks.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Wine – Selection from Business Class
Speak of what’s in stock, the menu on my flight read as follows:
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Menu
As you can see, there were three choices for each meal service, as well as a separate afternoon tea service which I’ll detail later. There’s no out-of-this-world feature in Air New Zealand’s premium economy catering, though I did like how creative the selections on offer were, and particularly enjoyed some of the non-alcoholic drinks in stock as well (the bloody mary was off-menu, though clearly advertised by the crew). Much like Qantas’ premium economy, there’s also cafetiére coffee available here, and not just instant coffee.
The meal service was served at 11:45 AM New Zealand time, around 45 minutes after the first drinks service. By the time they got to my seat, they were out of the pork scotch – only the burrata ravioli and black bean chicken were available. By the time they got to the last row, even the burrata ravioli was out, and only the chicken was left. I wouldn’t have been very happy to lose two out of the three options available, though the ladies behind were well-spirited about it.
I had the burrata ravioli, and was offered bread “from the bakery” (i.e. from a breadbasket). The meal was presented together on china, including a beautifully presented side salad of truffled chicken breast and burrata ravioli in a casserole. Both were very tasty, and while the bread was served cold, I enjoyed it as well.
Air New Zealand serves their bread with olive oil instead of butter. I actually initially declined the olive oil, though the crewmember gave it to me anyway saying “try it, it’s very good”. I did try it, and it was indeed very good – very fresh and peppery-tasting.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Meal – Truffled Chicken Breast, Burrata Ravioli
Once the crew saw that I was done with my mains (15 minutes after they were served), they cleared the tray tables, leaving just a delicious tiramisu that was originally served with the rest of the meal. I asked for some orange juice, which was the nice stuff with bits in it (though did come out of a carton).
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Meal Service – Tiramisu
After I was done the crew asked if I wanted anything else, and I figured I might as well have a coffee, which was nice as well as far as plane coffee goes. This was served with a chocolate.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Coffee and Chocolate
Many windows were left undimmed during the meal service, so it was quite nice to have some natural light over lunch as well. The meal service concluded at 12:25 PM New Zealand time, about two hours after takeoff.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Cabin after Meal Service
I found the meal service to be good, and the food tasty. Now, there aren’t any major investments in food, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see that ravioli main course in economy. I also wish they would’ve stocked a couple more of the meal options, since it’s quite sad for the last row to run out of all but one meal choice.
However, some elements stood out to me, such as the nicely plated appetiser, the service flow (such as bread being “from the bakery”), the great dessert, and the extensive local wine list. I’d say overall that this was quite a good meal service, if not stand-out.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Service Between Meals
If there’s an element of Air New Zealand’s service that did stand out to me, it was their creative drinks selection. Between meals, there were local wines, a (canned) mocktail and a non-alcoholic beer, bloody mary, and more. All of these items could be ordered on the IFE screen, and it only took a few minutes for the cabin crew to come round with it.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy On-Demand Drinks Menu
Additionally, you can also get earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and eyeshades from the “amenities” part of the menu on demand. The former two come with the amenity kit, though eyeshades would be a nice addition.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Amenities Selection
In terms of snacks, there were some crisps, chocolates and a snack mix available in the galley, and these could be ordered from the IFE screen as well. There weren’t any formal hot meals, noodles or wraps available though, as with Qantas and Cathay Pacific.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Galley Selection
Midway through the flight the crew replaced these with the economy selection, as they had run out of the premium economy selection (a crew member caught me taking a photo of the spread, and came and explained that these were from economy).
Air New Zealand 787 Economy Class Galley Selection
An hour or so after the meal service I decided to try the non-alcoholic coconut sparkling margarita, the mocktail on the menu. This was from New Zealand-based brand Alba, which serves ready-to-drink sparkling cocktails. The crewmember came over with a part-poured glass, as well as the rest of the can for me to help myself to.
This was on the sweet side, though I’d try it again on a longhaul flight.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Coconut Mocktail
Later in the flight I had a non-alcoholic IPA from Parrotdog, which was presented similarly. This was good as well, and I like the number of non-alcoholic drinks (there are normal beers on the menu as well, though I was trying not to have too many drinks on this daytime flight).
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Parrotdog Non-Alcoholic IPA
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Afternoon Tea Selection
Around 2.5h after the meal service ended (and just under halfway into the flight), the crew came around with some sandwiches and petit fours. The cabin lights weren’t turned on for this – rather the crew just served these to those who were awake. When I asked whether I could take a photo, the crew member serving me asked me to wait, and came back with a full platter. While these were just brought around and handed out in tinfoil casseroles, the actual goodies themselves looked so enticing.
There were salmon and cream cheese, goat cheese and cucumber, and ham and cheese sandwiches, though I was more intrigued by the petit fours, including a profiterole, glazed orange pistachio friand, and boysenberry (!) lamington. I just had a profiterole, which was absolutely delicious – I’m sure they would’ve given me another one if I’d still asked, though I was still fairly full from lunch.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Afternoon Tea Selection
While not the most extensive platter and I kind of wish this was formally available on demand, this was a very nice surprise to be served at the halfway point of the flight.
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Service
Speaking of service, the crew serving this flight were friendly, eager to please, and always up for a chat. Service felt polished yet relaxed, and they served both meal services efficiently, and were among the most attentive between meal services that I’ve experienced in premium economy.
I asked them a few questions about how they found operating this configuration vs. operating their V4 aircraft (with new interiors) as well – this crew primarily operated the configuration I was on, though was aware of the features they were advertising on their newer fleet as well (such as the fixed shell seats in premium economy). Travellers based in New Zealand are generally used to operating long flights, and it was certainly no exception being a crewmember!
Cruising on the way to Hong Kong
Between having unlimited drinks on demand, a comfortable (albeit dated) seat, a friendly seat neighbour, free WiFi on both devices, and having had a nice lunch, I was a happy camper. As aforementioned, the WiFi did cut out for a couple of hours while we were over northern Australia and heading into Indonesia.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Map
During this time, I figured I’d watch a movie. Funny story – when I was flying Japan Airlines a couple of months ago, J had recommended that I watch the F1 movie, starring Brad Pitt. I ended up watching Gran Turismo, which I loved…though feeding the movie back was a bit awkward before we realised we had watched different movies.
Seeing that the F1 movie was available on this entertainment system, I decided to give it a go. Sadly I didn’t really have the mental energy to get through a full movie at this point, especially since the WiFi was revived halfway through the movie (so I was reconnected to the outside world), and I hadn’t slept much the night prior. So I abandoned the movie halfway, and resorted to switching between napping and getting some light work done.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy F1 Movie
Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy Pre-Landing Service
Around 2h 50m before landing, we were given a hot towel, in preparation for the pre-landing meal service. Sunrise cabin lighting was turned on in the cabin shortly after.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Cabin
During this time I was up from my seat anyway, so decided to quickly check out the economy cabin, which looked full – I believe that this flight went out completely full in all cabins on the day I was flying.
Air New Zealand 787 Economy Class Cabin
The meal service was done around 2h before landing, and there was a choice of red chicken curry, roasted gurnard with crayfish rice, and braised beef shortrib. The gurnard sounded right up my alley, served with crayfish rice, roasted zucchini and seaweed butter. Sadly the rice was a bit undercooked and not as flavourful as I hoped, and while the gurnard was tender and flavourful, the dish itself was served lukewarm. The sauvignon blanc I had with it was good, though.
This was served with some local cheese, as well as a tasty proscuitto, olive and artichoke salad, which was nicely presented. I was once again offered bread “from the bakery” (I did take the olive oil this time).
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Meal Service – Roasted Gurnard with Crayfish Rice
Once we were done with this meal service, it was once again quite swiftly collected. At this time we were flying over the Philippines, approaching Hong Kong Airport.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Moving Map
While the main course wasn’t as well-executed as I would’ve liked, once again the local flair shined through across the food and drink offering.
Landing into Hong Kong Airport
At 3:15 PM there was an announcement over the PA that we’d be descending imminently, and would be parked at the gate and disembarking by 4 PM. The captain announced that we’d be descending from the north, which got me excited, as views are typically great when approaching from that end (especially on the left side).
Sadly we had horrible weather, so there wasn’t much in the way of views.
Landing into Hong Kong Airport
We touched down onto runway 25R (on the far side of the airport) at 3:55 PM, and began our lengthy taxi back towards the terminal. During this time we passed the Terminal 2 concourse, which is currently under construction. I’m excited to fly out of there someday!
Passing the new Terminal 2 Concourse at Hong Kong Airport
In this case we parked at Terminal 1’s gate 34, right as a Cathay Pacific 777 next to us was pushing back towards Jakarta.
Taxiing at Hong Kong Airport
The screens showed a “Mā te wā” graphic, bidding us farewell as we prepared to disembark the aircraft.
Air New Zealand 787 Premium Economy Entertainment System
We were off the plane by 4:15 PM, where I bid farewell to my new friends and headed towards transit, where I’d be continuing to Seoul Incheon on Korean Air.
Air New Zealand 787 at Hong Kong Airport
Transiting Hong Kong was so strange, since I was passing through my hometown without stopping by to say hi to family. Prior to this time I also had zero indication of how smooth it would be – there ended up being more of a wait than I was expecting, though I was still through in about 15 minutes.
Although I’d had a comfortable flight, I was quite tired at this point (especially given I didn’t sleep much and it was nighttime in Australia/New Zealand), and headed to the Kyra Lounge for a drink as I got ready for my next flight.
Conclusion: Air New Zealand’s 787 Premium Economy
My flight on Air New Zealand was pleasant, and I enjoyed it. The seat itself was comfortable and featured industry-leading seat pitch, even though I found it to be dated with limited recline. Amenities were a mixed bag (with a great pillow but a not-great blanket and amenity kit), though catering was a highlight, with local cuisine and wines, and a large selection of non-alcoholic beverages. The crew on this flight were a highlight as well, and fun to be around. In addition, having free WiFi on a flight is great, and the airline is moving in the right direction by adopting high-speed WiFi with Starlink as well.
However, I didn’t find Air New Zealand’s premium economy to be a standout in any way. While I had a good flight, I didn’t find the seat, amenities, or catering (even drinks, or between meal services) to be best-in-class. Perhaps I could consider the ground service to be quite good among peers (especially with a dedicated check-in area, free seat selection, and boarding just behind business class), though even then I didn’t think it stood out amongst competitors. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to fly the product, which might not be the conclusion you’d expect, given the airline’s reputation (though I wouldn’t mind flying it either).
While in most cases you won’t that many alternative options when flying down under, Air New Zealand faces tough competition from their neighbour Qantas. I’d say that in this case Qantas has them beat by quite a margin, especially if you’re on one of their 787s with free WiFi. Although there’s less seat pitch, the seat is more innovative and better designed (I’d say still more so than Air New Zealand’s newer shell seats), I marginally prefer the amenities, and the catering is on another level. I will say that Air New Zealand has more planes with WiFi installed compared to Qantas, though (both are behind the curve compared to other carriers), so that’s an area where they are ahead.
I’d be keen to see whether Air New Zealand’s new 787s have a leading premium economy product, though for now I’m not convinced that Air New Zealand belongs in the top league of premium economy products. I think Qantas and Japan Airlines still lead the industry in this cabin class, and airlines such as Cathay Pacific and EVA Air have a comparable product.
Have you flown Air New Zealand’s premium economy? Did you find it one of the best out there?
