karenjc

We popped into travelbag yesterday, to find out the price difference about flying via Asia or the USA. The price difference was nothing really and only a couple of hours more ( quote was for Brisbane ) with another stop in Auckland for the USA option. The lady said that the baggage allowance was more if you went through the USA, Malaysia airlines give you not extra luggage allowance ( never new this ) but Singapore do. With the USA flights it was with air New Zealand but i thought that it had a large draw back in the fact that it has no TV's in the seat headrests, just think that it would (hopefully) kill a lot of the time for the kids if they can watch the children's movies and play the games that are with this facility, the lady said that they are being put into the aircraft and was scheduled to be complete by October but that they are running behind. So has anyone used air New Zealand, want a balanced view before we book any flights

Flying Banana

The first Air New Zealand flight with the new inflight entertainment system is due to land in Melbourne next week, it's the same system as Virgin have as far as I'm aware which will include some games and video on demand ie watch what you want when you want, not sure what they are like to fly with as never been with them although know a few people who have and said they are good.

Singapore consistently get very good write ups and their cabin service is renowned for being a cut above the rest.

Grayling

In some people's opinion.

I have always found them quite ordinary and pretty cramped.

Air New Zealand are fine and give you more legroom than Singapore.

G

Centurion

Air NZ have old planes and hence not updated entertainment systems. The plus side to this is that in economy the seat pitch is 34" compared to the 31" for Qantas or BA. So the whilst the downside maybe no personal vid screens and a bit run down, you do get a few more inches legroom.

I have not flown the US route tho and I dont know if there are special procedures which apply when you transit a US hub.

Other than that the food is reasonable and the fares are normally very low.

Hope that helps

melibeam

I have flown Air New Zealand via Los Angeles and found the airline fine, apart from not having the seat back tv screens. Think this is important for kids. The best thing about coming via the USA is that you are allowed 2 pieces of luggage per person, not limited to 20kg. The worse thing is that you have to go through US immigration, even if just in transit. The queues were really long both times I have been and I would not fly that route anymore.

Have you tried Cathay Pacific, they had some very good fares recently and were excellent when I had a trip to the UK in May.

Mel

zx10r_aus

My partner and I are flying Air New Zealand next month. So far we have been given baggage allowances for 2 bags with max. weight of 32kg. We are also flying to Brisbane, When are you thinking of leaving? When we get to Australia I will fill you in on the pro's and con's if you like.

Jim

Flying Banana

I've used the US route to from Aussie for a few years now and agree with Melibeam, the immigration/transfers at LAX are awful, if you can go via San Frans Disco then it is a much better experience all round, airport is newer, easier to navigate (only one terminal to go through) and generally a lot less stressful.

I've only been through LAX the once and would rather thumb a lift via Siberia than do it again.

karenjc

Were going on the 18th or 19th October we have to be in by the 23rd, i know cutting it fine but as with quite a few people the house sale has taken longer than we thought. Yeah if you could let us know how it went for you that would be great many thanks

uk+kiwi

Always found Air NZ to be fantastic, but not done it with the children. I would have to say from a service/staff attitude & legroom point of view it beats BA hands down for me (which I do feel sad in admitting even though I am married to a kiwi!) We're going over for Xmas and flying BA/Quantas. Have also heard directly from Air NZ that they are upgrading the TV units, meant to be completed by end of October, but already running behind so it would be luck of the aircraft for you personally I think. Given this and with children, I would have to say try the Asian airlines. Service has always been good and the entertainment systems have already been upgraded. Also, there should still be some good prices still floating about. Good luck.

Amazulu

We went through LAX last year & thought we'd been diverted to Lagos or Delhi it was that bad. San Francisco is much better, brand new terminal & very efficient. United fly SFO-SYD direct.

Air New Zealand are pretty average, food was ok, staff were pretty crap. I flew with them in 1993 & the 747's they use now are the same as they were then. Not that great with toddlers either.

stacey and jordan

Hi Karen just wondering did you use Air New Zealand in the end and if you did how did you rate them, and were your children ok with the long flight.

Stacey xx

karenjc

Due to the amount of luggage we were taking we decided to go direct with Singapore and they were great especially with the kids, and they let us of with luggage being 40kgs over. They said it would have cost £900 but said you only eemigrateonce so it was fine . So a tip is don't weigh your luggage on bathroom scales.

Jonahs_mummy

Stacey,

As of 1st April Air NZ no longer offer the 64kg per person on the flights via USA. It is still a big allowance but is less than 50kg.

Claire

jad n rich

We just checked Air new zealand as they are offering a " cheap " fare to UK $1599 + taxes.

The taxes are $620 per adult and $580 per child :scared: :scared:

andrew63

Reckon you have enough responses but I have flown Air NZ via LAX to Oz a few times. Flight is OK but no TV makes it very boring. Combined with the hassles at LAX I would avoid unless you really need the extra luggage allowance.

Emirates are very good and offering one way fares of GBP 430 for adults at the moment (LHR to BNE) and I think they are one of the few who charge kid fars up until the age of 16.
Taiwan airways are quite good and cheap. I have been told that you can get a return from BNE to LHR for just AUS$4,000 flying business class to TPE and then premium economy TPE to LHR. However, their web site (www.evaair.com) is crap so you need to call them direct.

Good luck

Andrew