Air New Zealand vs Qantas

Also a good choice. Standard to good on each element e.g. food, seats, service.

 

They fly 777s on that route. However, they have not tried to squeeze more people in to increase revenue like Air NZ.

Thanks,

That's just the info we were looking for.... We have found that booking flights in and out of LAX with a separate add on of the ATL/LAX leg is so far appearing to be cheaper than booking directly out of ATL. Now, to wait until the March schedules come out, then to decide when to book.... :) Thanks again

Fact : Qantas currently loses money on its International services, whereas Air NZ run theirs at a profit, albeit Air NZ flies to more Overseas ports than Qantas but with a much smaller fleet with greater frequency !!!

But it's worth saying this about this observation. The two airlines' "international" services are not directly comparable. There are different geographical focuses and emphases. A proper comparison would have to look at Qantas Group international operations and Air New Zealand international operations, because Air New Zealand is in some cases competing against Qantas (mainline) and in others competing against Jetstar, which offers different products from Qantas (mainline). Air New Zealand's product mix is different again.

Air New Zealand's 777-300ERs are also an odd mix.

The economy seats are, by all accounts, pretty dreadful for passengers, given that 10-abreast configuration which is not only cramped when you're sitting, but also means that service is difficult and disruptive; but they must work wonders for the airline's profits.

In contrast, the premium economy Spaceseats have been an economic near-disaster for the airline, in particular after the airline had to do an emergency reconfiguration to remove an entire row of seats from the cabin - but AIUI this has produced a boon to passengers in that cabin because of the huge amount of space created by each seat being given an extra 6 to 9 inches more legroom than had originally been installed (and that had already been intended to be "premium economy"-type legroom). The seats have been so bad for profits (= so good for passengers) that the airline has now in effect abandoned them for the future.

The seats have been so bad for profits (= so good for passengers) that the airline has now in effect abandoned them for the future.

As long as they don't decide to rip them out and re-set things before next December, LOL. I booked specifically for that Premium Economy set-up.

As long as they don't decide to rip them out and re-set things before next December ...

Fortunately not. They're not removing them from the 777-300ERs; but they will not use them for the new 787s that are being delivered, nor for the forthcoming refurbishment of the 777-200s.

Good for us! We only get to experience them from AKL-LAX but I'm really looking forward to it.

If it matters to anyone, Air New Zealand weighs carryon luggage prior to boarding and any bag over 7kg must be checked, at an additional cost. We were totally surprised by this, since we traveled over on Qantas and they had no such requirement. We were on a 27 day holiday including a 12 day cruise so naturally we had a lot of luggage.

Also we were in economy on both airlines and I must say we thought the Qantas seat far superior for legroom. Service and entertainment options were about equal.

If it matters to anyone, Air New Zealand weighs carryon luggage prior to boarding and any bag over 7kg must be checked, at an additional cost. We were totally surprised by this, since we traveled over on Qantas and they had no such requirement. We were on a 27 day holiday including a 12 day cruise so naturally we had a lot of luggage.

 

Also we were in economy on both airlines and I must say we thought the Qantas seat far superior for legroom. Service and entertainment options were about equal.

I have NEVER had my carry-ons weighed on ANZ, but have on Qantas. My carry-ons were weighed when I switched from ANZ to Air Canada for my last cruise, but that was strictly because the flight to Quebec City was on a small-turbo prop plane, not a standard jet. I was fully prepared for that.

But in all the times I have flown trans-Pacific, the only times my carry-ons have been weighed has been on Qantas.

If it matters to anyone, Air New Zealand weighs carryon luggage prior to boarding and any bag over 7kg must be checked, at an additional cost. We were totally surprised by this, since we traveled over on Qantas and they had no such requirement.

I have NEVER had my carry-ons weighed on ANZ, but have on Qantas.

Whether any airline enforces this on any particular day is always a question of the luck of the draw. There are plenty of reports of people who've experienced Qantas weighing.

DF and I just booked for October 2014 trip: we are flying from East Coast and wanted least number of stops so chose 2 one-way flights. Flying to Sydney on Qantas, returning from Auckland on ANZ - only one stop in each direction, so cuts total travel time. Will post upon return to comment on comparison.

Just booked Premium Economy on Air NZ for April 2015. One way flight was much less expensive on Air NZ versus Qantas for us. 777-300 out of SFO...should be interesting.

Although everyone's entitled to their opinions, yours is an odd view and the above is particularly misleading. Qantas is in a strong cash position and nowhere near going "belly up."

 

What can be said is that Air NZ are currently more profitable than Qantas, which is a turnaround for both over the past couple of years.

 

However, that profitability has come out of passenger comfort. For example, they are flying their 777-300 in a configuration as low cost carriers do, rather than full service i.e. by squeezing an extra seat in every row. The standard config is 3-3-3 (9 abreast), whereas Air NZ configure it in 3-4-3 (10 abreast). As you can imagine, that is a good way to increase revenue and profits. Comfort not so much.

 

To squeeze the extra seat in, they have had to shrink the seat width, making them 17" wide. Full service seating (e.g. Singapore, Virgin, Malaysian) is 18.5-19". That's a 2" or 5cm difference, think about the difference that will make on a 13 hour flight.

 

To make matters worse, the slimmer seats don't make up for that extra squeezed into each row, they also slice a chunk off of the aisles.

 

To see the practical effect, here's the standard config:

http://www.seatmaestro.com/images/comments/1322404.jpg

 

And here's an AirNZ plane: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Air_New_Zealand_Pacific_Economy_777-300ER_cabin.jpg

 

Looks at the man in the aisle in this picture, he only fits with his hands raised, and he is normal weight wise. Compare that, to the standard, much wider seats, and a much wider aisle. Which even then is still a squeeze.

 

In addition to this, Air NZ operate a 32" pitch, which is near the bottom.

 

Is it any wonder profits are up?

 

As for Qantas, they don't operate 777s. However, A 747 in a 10 abreast layout is similar to a 777 in a 9 abreast layout. And their A380 is easily the nicest of the three.

I'm with BIG M. on this. QANTAS is hamstrung by legislation limiting overseas ownership but is still strong.

Although I haven't flown ANZ for some time, DW and I flew BNE to SIN and Narita to Sydney on QANTAS B747 economy last Feb and had an excellent trip both times.

My personal preference is Qantas, ANZ then Virgin..

Qantas going belly up? I don't think so. ANZ profits up? Wish my dividends from them would go up :D

and yes, make sure your carry on is not over 7 kg, more than one airline checks this and depending on which airline on how many pieces you can have, they are cracking down on that as well.

I'm of the opinion that it's not really possible to declare which of the airlines is better as there are far too many factors at play.

Both airlines do well in airline rankings, so I think it's a fairly safe bet to go with either, but which one is truly better is going to come down to the needs of the individual customer.

Of the 20 or so different airlines I have tried, Air NZ is one of my favourite. But this is not due to any home country bias, it's because they treat families with kids well. While that's an important consideration for me, it won't be for others.

I also think that at the end of the day, as long as all the the airlines you are comparing have good reputations, the biggest considerations are going to be cost, flight time and any layovers and stopovers.

It might be just me, but I'm not going to pay a thousand dollars extra for my family, or spend 3 more hours more on a plane, for the sake of 1 extra inch of recline or a slightly wider aisle (and yes, I agree Air NZ has crammed too many seats into those aisles).

Obviously flight time is slightly less important when you're sitting in the comfort of business, but I still don't think there is a 'one size fits all' criteria for deciding which airline is best.

...and yes, make sure your carry on is not over 7 kg, more than one airline checks this and depending on which airline on how many pieces you can have, they are cracking down on that as well.

Check the carry on rules that apply to the type of ticket you would buy, and to your frequent-flyer status. On ANZ, for example, a notably more liberal carry-on allowance applies to people in Premium Economy or Business, or with Star Gold (or higher) status. On recent ANZ flights in Economy (both trans-Pac. and within NZ), based on our Star Alliance status, we each had a 10-kg (22 lb) limit for our main carry-on, plus the ability to have a 2nd smaller carry on. We would not have had the extra carry-on allowance on Quantas.

John

I agree with The_Big_M about the cramped seats on Air New Zealand. We did a land tour of Australia and New Zealand in February 2014. We flew Air New Zealand from LAX to Auckland in coach with the 3-4-3 configuration. I am not a big person. It was the most cramped that I have ever been on an airplane. The aisles were the narrowest I have seen or tried to navigate. Service was good but really couldn't compensate for the cramped quarters. I have no comment about Quantas because I have never flown on that airline.

I certainly concur with The_Big_M and Aslaw about the cramped quarters in Economy on the ANZ B777-300 aircraft. What made it tolerable for us was spending somewhat more (much less than Premium Economy) to reserve a "SkyCouch" -- see my post #18 above. That gave us 3 seats for the two of us -- a big advantage, though it obviously could not solve the tight seat pitch and narrow aisle problems.

John

Qantas don't drive their planes into the sides of mountains in Antarctica.

Air NZ has everyone naked in their safety briefing video to get people to pay attention (wont link but it's on youtube)

Seen as I can see the breifing on youtube I'll keep flying Qantas

Qantas don't drive their planes into the sides of mountains in Antarctica.

Qantas don't drive their planes into the sides of mountains in Antarctica.

No, but they do drive them into the sides of hills in Papua New Guinea.

Six of one, half a dozen of another. *shrugs*

Check the carry on rules that apply to the type of ticket you would buy, and to your frequent-flyer status. On ANZ, for example, a notably more liberal carry-on allowance applies to people in Premium Economy or Business, or with Star Gold (or higher) status. On recent ANZ flights in Economy (both trans-Pac. and within NZ), based on our Star Alliance status, we each had a 10-kg (22 lb) limit for our main carry-on, plus the ability to have a 2nd smaller carry on. We would not have had the extra carry-on allowance on Quantas.

 

John

Yes you absolutely have to check the airline and ticket you have to be sure of your allowances, no one size fits all.

We flew domestic with Jetstar last year and they were hot on one bag only (7kg max). In a fortnight we are flying domestic Qantas and we have an allowance of 2 bags (7 kg ea) or one bag and one garment bag. A lot of variables.

Qantas don't drive their planes into the sides of mountains in Antarctica.

 

Air NZ has everyone naked in their safety briefing video to get people to pay attention (wont link but it's on youtube)

 

Seen as I can see the breifing on youtube I'll keep flying Qantas

I'll presume the first point is tongue in cheek since it couldn't possibly be a valid argument.

However, in reference to that Cook Island Safety video, I admit to having a love-hate relationship with it. What it lacks in taste, it makes up for in effect. While I sat there cringing at how awful it was, I looked around at other passengers and noticed that almost the whole plane was paying attention to the safety briefing (even the businessmen who usually don't look up from their newspapers). Love or hate it, I had to admit it works.

I'll presume the first point is tongue in cheek since it couldn't possibly be a valid argument.

 

However, in reference to that Cook Island Safety video, I admit to having a love-hate relationship with it. What it lacks in taste, it makes up for in effect. While I sat there cringing at how awful it was, I looked around at other passengers and noticed that almost the whole plane was paying attention to the safety briefing (even the businessmen who usually don't look up from their newspapers). Love or hate it, I had to admit it works.

Love the Cook Island Safety Video. Anything which breaks the boredom of long haul flying is good to me.

I'll presume the first point is tongue in cheek since it couldn't possibly be a valid argument.

 

However, in reference to that Cook Island Safety video, I admit to having a love-hate relationship with it. What it lacks in taste, it makes up for in effect. While I sat there cringing at how awful it was, I looked around at other passengers and noticed that almost the whole plane was paying attention to the safety briefing (even the businessmen who usually don't look up from their newspapers). Love or hate it, I had to admit it works.

It certainly was tongue in cheek.

We are pretty blessed here in Australia and NZ so far as airlines go.

The kiwis did loose that other jet in the med.... but they weren't flying it at the time

I've flown Qantas for long haul flights three times from Auckland to London, Auckland to LAX and Auckland to JFK and they were all fine. Reason for choosing Qantas over Air NZ was purely on price. Even though I'm a Kiwi so I should be supporting Air NZ. Flown Air NZ domestically and they are fine. I've had delays on both airlines - it's just the luck of the draw!

We are considering Air NZ but are confused by the allowed baggage. We are doing 3 weeks (cruise/land) and want to take 2 bags each <24kg/50lbs. I am confused by ANZ website that states only 1 bag allowed. It reads like we can only take 1 bag. I don't mind paying extra for a 2nd bag, but would not fly them if we can only do 1. I didn't have this issue with Qantas last trip and think I'm probably not reading this correctly. We are trying to decide between economy and the awkward twisting premium economy seats. Qantas makes us go to SYD then AKL- costing us a day of travel.

Can someone clarify the baggage allowance for economy for ANZ? Thanks!

Karen