Flight Review: Air New Zealand – Sydney to Auckland (NZ104)

In today’s Flight review on AU Abroad, we take you on board Air New Zealand and one of their services from Sydney to Auckland (NZ104). This is an airline who has stayed ahead of many of their competitors, racking up awards just as fast as air miles and it’s all on the back of their very in-touch and professional approach to service.

Airline: Air New Zealand
Route: Sydney to Auckland, NZ104
Aircraft: Boeing 777
Scheduled Flight Time: 3 Hours
On Schedule? Delayed departure due to technical issue at Airport (multiple airlines affected), on time arrival considering.

Meal Service:

There’s one meal service during this flight, mainly focused on protein and giving you the option between meat and seafood. The meals are quite substantial, especially for an airline lunch. Most importantly, they taste good. I had the beef, coming with small baked carrots and creamy potato, coming with a soft bread roll and a small tub of ice cream.

In-Flight Entertainment:

Aside from comfort, here is where I feel Air NZ excel. Even their safety video could count as entertainment. We all know safety videos can be a bit mind-numbing at times, especially for those who fly very regularly, so NZ Air’s decision to get playful – and cinematic – with their safety videos is a great welcome to your flight and adds to the comfort. The version I got was The Hobbit themed; a memorable mash up of clear and succinct safety instructions and general Hobbit stereotypes, what’s more is that the video stars Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood. It’s a very well balanced instructional video that most importantly keeps people engaged, a far more effective way of making sure everyone on the flight pays attention.

Of course, the in-flight entertainment extends far beyond this with a system I feel offers one of the largest collections I’ve seen on such a short flight. There’s up-to-date TV shows from series like Person of Interest and South Park; all the classic and contemporary arcade games you can think of; an overwhelmingly massive selection of movies ranging from new releases (like X-Men: Days of Future Past) to classics (like Deliverance); a food menu; and more. The touch screen controls work seamlessly and allow you to bring up information like flight time and flight path without interrupting your current viewing. Whatever you’re watching at the time automatically pauses when the headphones are taken out of the jack, another seamless and convenient function.

Comfort:

Whether you’re middle seat, window, or aisle, the economy seats in Air NZ are still so very comfortable that little matters beyond any personal preference. There’s an adjustable headrest which you can pull up according to your height and wrap around your head, eliminating the need for a neck pillow (it’s just as comfortable as one as well!). If you are lucky enough to have a row to yourself you can also bring the footrests all the way up, on every seat, so you create a bed for yourself. They’ll give you a blanket to complete the picture. Economy has come a long way indeed.

Customer Service:

As with most multiple award-winning airlines Air NZ employs a crew that always meets a certain high standard of customer service. You can see and feel the difference in the way they greet you, they way they politely and quickly deal with any requests, and ensure a star service is consistent across the entire cabin, no matter what seat you’re in. There’s no real disconnect between you and the staff either, all are very personable and willing to engage in small talk with you should you need (as I witnessed with a lone flyer sitting adjacent to me who just wanted someone to talk to).

To make a booking with Air NZ head to their official website HERE

This flight was kindly provided by Air NZ to the writer. This article was originally published in January 2015. All information was correct at the time of first printing. 

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Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.