Air New Zealand is operating some of the daily flights between Sydney and Auckland by wide-body aircrafts like the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. After my flight with Thai Airways in Royal First on a Boeing 747 from Bangkok and a short visit to Sydney, I was ready to fly further to Auckland. My Air New Zealand flight in business class was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER.
Flight: Air New Zealand 108
Route: Sydney (SYD) – Auckland (AKL)
Date: Monday May 7, 2018
Depart: 6:55PM
Arrive: 11:59PM
Duration: 3h04min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER
Class of service: Business Class
Air New Zealand Business Class Lounge Sydney
Air New Zealand is flying to 6 destinations from Sydney. As Air New Zealand is operating many flights from this airport, the airline has its own lounge in Sydney. The Air New Zealand Business Class Lounge is located near the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge and is open every day from 6am until 8:55pm. The lounge is accessible for all Star Alliance first and business class passengers as well as Star Alliance Gold members.
On my left was a traditional seating area with some high-top communal tables. On my right was the main section of the lounge with a buffet, great views on the tarmac, a business center and many other seating areas. While there are self serve coffee machines and drink stations throughout the lounge, what you really want is to order your drink at the bar! Past the bar was yet another seating area, both with seats facing one another, and also with seats facing the windows. What I loved about this lounge was the nice light decoration.
The main buffet consisted of a selection of croissants, bread, danishes, sliced fruit, whole fruit, cereal and yogurt. There were also hot dishes like rice, vegetables, pasta and many different types of snacks.
I ended up spending almost 2 hours in the lounge before I want to my gate. I think Air New Zealand has an excellent lounge at Sydney Airport.
Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200ER Business Class Cabin
I entered the aircraft through the second door and was warmly welcomed by the crew. The business class section was on my left. My flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER and this aircraft features 26 flat bed seats in business class, arranged in a (reverse) herringbone 1-2-1 configuration. The cabin looked spacious and modern and I really loved the mood lighting. Unlike most business class cabins in a reverse herringbone configuration, the seats in this cabin are facing to each other. This gives the seats less privacy, although it wasn’t as bad as I thought. To get more privacy, choose a seat in the front or the rear of the cabin. There is no real difference between the seats as they’re all pretty much the same.
The seats aren’t perfect for those who are traveling together. However, the ottoman includes a seatbelt, so you can actually dine with another passenger if you’d like. Business class passengers have access to 3 lavatories in this aircraft, 1 in the front and 2 in the rear of the cabin. A walk-up bar separates the business class section from the premium economy class.
Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200ER Business Class Seat
I assigned myself seat 3K. On my seat, I found a pillow, a bottle of water and headphones in a plastic bag. No blankets, mattress cover and amenity kit were offered as it was just a 3 hour flight. After I took my seat, I directly was offered a choice of beverage. I decided to take a glass of Champagne. Air New Zealand serves either Laurent-Perrier Champagne or Billecart-Salmon and I like both. The seat itself was comfortable, although not much space is offered. Also storage is fairly limited. The seat controls were on my left side but didn’t offer that many options as I only could recline my seat.
In-Flight Dining
About 20 minutes after takeoff, I was offered another beverage and I opted for a glass of Pinot Noir. As a starter, I was offered Moroccan spiced chicken with butternut squash, coconut, radicchio, feta and harissa yoghurt. This was served with traditional sourdough loaf, dark rye loaf, garlic bread and purple grain rolls as well as Hawke’s Bay extra virgin olive oil. As main course, I went for the red wine braised beef cheek with colcannon mash which tasted very good in combination with the Pinot Noir.
As a dessert, I went for the fine New Zealand cheese which was served with a quince paste and cracker selection. I always love the combination of cheese and wine. Then there was ice scream with a liquor drink which was recommended by one of the flight attendants. I finished with a coffee which was served with a chocolate. During the meal service, I experienced a friendly service from the flight attendants which were certainly in for a chat.
Turndown Service And In-Flight Entertainment
The seat controls don’t allow you to put the seat in the lie-flat position. To do so, a flight attendant is required to make that adjustment. However, once you’re seat is flat, you can’t move the seat on your own at all. The in-flight entertainment screen is quite small, just 12.1 inch. However, the screen can be moved very close to the seat, which helps improve the experience a bit. There was a large selection of new series, films, music and some interesting information about New Zealand. Due to the short flight time, I wasn’t able to check it all out so I decided to watch the flight map. We should be landing in Auckland soon.
About half an hour later, we safely landed in Auckland. The time difference between Sydney and Auckland is 2 hours so it was almost midnight. I said good bye to the friendly flight attendants and moved my way to immigration.
Air New Zealand Business Class Bottom Line
Overall, I had a pleasant flight with Air New Zealand. I really enjoyed the business class lounge at Sydney Airport with nice design. The lounge offers a large selection of food and beverages, a nice bar and different types of seating areas with views on the planes. It’s an excellent and nice place to stay before boarding and one of the better business class lounge I’ve been to so far.
I was lucky to be on a wide-body aircraft for a 3 hour flight. The cabin looks modern and I really like the mood lighting. Unfortunately, the seats were facing to each other so not much space and privacy was offered. Flight attendants were friendly and certainly in for a chat during this flight. I also really enjoyed the food and drinks on board. My first impression of Air New Zealand is quite good and I’m definitely looking forward for a long haul flight with them.
What’s your experience with Air New Zealand Business Class? Have you flown them already or are you planning to make a flight with them? Let me know your questions and thoughts in the comments below!
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I love the Air New Zealand experience and service, the wines and food are fabulous,. But am not a fan of the business class seating. The limited space and lack of privacy are disappointing. Overall the airline is a winner for me, as a kiwi living overseas the minute I step on an Air NZ flight I feel like I’m home!
Exactly, it’s true that Air New Zealand has an excellent soft product but the seat is offering limited space and lack of privacy. Let’s hope ANZ will improve its hard product in the future.
The space is even more restricted on the 787. I was surprised coming home from Singapore, just how Business Premier has packed in an extra seat. Unfortunately not to the same standard as Singapore Airlines business product.
Hard for ANZ to complete with other airlines on long haul routes then. I’ve not flown Singapore Airlines yet but I heard great things about it.
I wouldn t be flying Air New Zealand to the carrier s namesake country, though — instead, I had opportunity to experience the carrier s 777 business class on an exciting fifth-freedom flight, from London Heathrow (LHR) to Los Angeles (LAX). I booked my ticket through United MileagePlus for 70,000 miles plus $122 in taxes. Beginning my itinerary in Italy saved me from paying the UK s ridiculous Air Passenger Duty — roughly $210 for this premium-cabin flight.
ANZ is one of the better ways to cross the Atlantic, I agree. Only sad that the service will be discontinued from October 2020 as the airline will be flying directly from AKL to New York Newark. As a result, the fifth freedom flight from LHR to LAX will be discontinued.