Air New Zealand Economy vs Premium Economy LAX -AKL

Hello: Has anyone had any experiences with economy and premium economy on the LAX to AKL route regarding comfort, leg room, etc. Thanks.

It depends on if you are flying a Boeing 777-200 or a 777-300.

In the 777-200, you have the same seat width in both Economy and PE (seats are 9x across in both classes), but 8 to 10" more legroom. However, in the 777-300 it is a very big difference - their PE seats are quasi-business class. You end up with 3" more width (since PE is 6x seats across and Economy is 10x seats across), and 8 to 10" more legroom. I am not sure how prices differ.

So makes sure you know which aircraft you are taking. Air NZ has a huge difference in Premium Economy between the -200 and -300 versions of the 777, and currently both fly LAX-AKL.

We were in PE on the 777-300 LHR-LAX last year. The seat was comfortable, nice storage space and the food and wine were quite good. The BIG drawback is there is no footrest. They give you these silly little purple beanbags that do nothing. Luckily I had a small carry on bag which I put in front of my seat so I could put my feet up and sleep.We were not scheduled to be on that flight but due to a mixed connection at LHR United put us on that aircraft. Not sure i would pay much more than a few hundred in additional fare over coach for NZ PE class.

Get the best seat you can afford... Try for business it will pay you back in spades.

I have done this and longer flights on Air New Zealand, Singapore, United..... You have no idea how long it is and how important getting a better seat is.... worth every penny. Heck I pay $90 just for economy plus each way on united... to Hawaii 5.5 hours each way...and it makes a huge difference

Your talking 12+ hours..... the discomfort exponential and can take the steam out of you for the first several days.

I'm wondering about shoulder room with the PE spaceseat? We are booked LHR-LAX next year, and I'd love to not scrunch to give hubby extra shoulder room.

I'm wondering about shoulder room with the PE spaceseat? We are booked LHR-LAX next year, and I'd love to not scrunch to give hubby extra shoulder room.

Unless one of you is extremely broad at the shoulders, this shouldn't be a problem in the Spaceseat.

We decided to do preferred seating in economy from LAX - AKL. We will be in a two seater near the front of economy. The cost of PE when doing a RT, LAX-AKL, SYD-AKL-LAX, was too expensive for us. We were able to book PE on the return from AKL-LAX for a $200 surcharge.

Unless one of you is extremely broad at the shoulders, this shouldn't be a problem in the Spaceseat.

Hubby wears a size 50 jacket. Opinions?

In the 777-200, you have the same seat width in both Economy and PE (seats are 9x across in both classes), but 8 to 10" more legroom. However, in the 777-300 it is a very big difference - their PE seats are quasi-business class. You end up with 3" more width (since PE is 6x seats across and Economy is 10x seats across), and 8 to 10" more legroom. I am not sure how prices differ.

I was amazed to find the prices were no different at all, at least on the routes I was looking at. I'll be flying back from AKL in November, and specifically chose a route and a time to get the 777-300 to take advantage of the extra width in premium economy (much more important to me than extra leg room).