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Air New Zealand Pacific Premium Economy


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Has anyone used these seats on either the Air NZ 777 or 747? Are they worth the extra $$? Any pros or cons to the seats you had? Unfortunately, I can't locate a good seating map (only one in black and white and can't differentiate the colour shading). Are there any disadvantages to sitting on the upper level on the 747's?

Thanks.

Lynn

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  • 3 weeks later...

Air New Zealand's website has an interactive feature concerning their new long haul service. You get a "tour" of each of the three classes on their refitted 747 aircraft. It is an excellent website feature, in my opinion, and may give you some of the information you are desiring.

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Unfortunately, I can't locate a good seating map (only one in black and white and can't differentiate the colour shading). Are there any disadvantages to sitting on the upper level on the 747's?
Try the following links for better seat maps, with comments:-

Boeing 747 (refitted configuration, with premium economy)

Boeing 777

 

However, the comments are only opinions, and sometimes made by the site with more speculation than hard information.

 

I haven't flown in NZ's premium economy, but you should be aware that the configuration is less generous than most premium economy cabins. The 777 is 3-3-3 (same as economy), whereas a leading competitor's 777s are 2-4-2. The 747 is 3-2 on the upper deck, whereas a leading competitor with premium economy on the upper deck has 2-2.

 

This is something you'd want to take into account when deciding whether the extra money is worthwhile. On the competitor which operates 777s, I generally reckon on being prepared to pay about £200 extra per long-haul sector for premium economy - it is worth that sort of money. However, if the differential goes up to £300, I would start being picky about which sectors I choose it for (eg I'd pay that for it overnight, but not for a day flight).

 

There is one potential disadvantage to a seat on the upper deck for some people, which is that you have to climb a relatively narrow set of stairs to get up there. Also, it can sometimes happen that upper deck passengers merge into a traffic jam at the bottom of the stairs on disembarking the aircraft. And if you're in the habit of bringing too much cabin baggage on board, the stowage can be a little limited in size because the overhead bins are constrained by the curvature of the aircraft roof.

 

Apart from these small niggles, the upper deck of a 747 is a wonderful way to fly on a modern airliner. I'd personally pick it every time if I could. It has the ambience of being on a small private jet. One other major plus is the sidewall lockers for the window seat passengers, which allow cabin baggage stowage in a place within very easy reach.

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There is one potential disadvantage to a seat on the upper deck for some people, which is that you have to climb a relatively narrow set of stairs to get up there. Also, it can sometimes happen that upper deck passengers merge into a traffic jam at the bottom of the stairs on disembarking the aircraft. And if you're in the habit of bringing too much cabin baggage on board, the stowage can be a little limited in size because the overhead bins are constrained by the curvature of the aircraft roof.

 

Apart from these small niggles, the upper deck of a 747 is a wonderful way to fly on a modern airliner. I'd personally pick it every time if I could. It has the ambience of being on a small private jet. One other major plus is the sidewall lockers for the window seat passengers, which allow cabin baggage stowage in a place within very easy reach.

 

Good points.

 

Another aspect is that the celiling is lower and some people who are a bit claustrophobic, but not like the small space.

 

Jane

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Another aspect is that the celiling is lower and some people who are a bit claustrophobic, but not like the small space.
Anyone who's concerned by this possibility might want to have a look at the following pictures to see whether they would have any problems with it.

 

Boeing 747-400 upper deck cabin

Picture 1 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

Picture 2 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

Picture 3 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

 

Boeing 737 cabin

Picture 1 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

Picture 2 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

Picture 3 (or this link for slow Internet connections, smaller picture)

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Thanks all for your words of wisdom. Fortunately, the issues you've raised don't bother us...climbing the stairs, tight for carry-on, etc. I've found an airline website and have been reading the Air NZ board and picked up a lot of tidbits. We're getting close to the 330 days out for reserving and so far we're leaning toward flying premium economy out of LAX on the 747 (going to try for seats 24JK). I absolutely dread having to be in the air 14+ hours and having to sit upright (there is no way I will ever sleep:eek: ), so we've decided to book the larger seats with more recline and leg support for the LAX to AUK leg and just do economy from Toronto to LA and from Auckland to Sydney. I know booking so far out we won't get any deals, but I'd much rather pay the extra, get the seats we want, and spend the next year looking forward to the trip instead of worrying about the flight.

Lynn

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