I was recently invited to experience Air New Zealand’s highly rated business class cabin and business class lounge at London Heathrow. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. Air New Zealand is renowned within the travel industry for its innovative ideas, which aim to enhance the onboard experience.
As a business class consultant, I'm always interested to have a snoop inside a business class cabin, so here's my Air New Zealand business class review:
Air New Zealand operates the spacious Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from London Heathrow to Auckland which stops in Los Angeles en-route. If you wish to break your journey, you could spend a few days in Los Angeles before continuing onto Auckland or take in a stop like the South Pacific island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands along the way.
Air New Zealand Business Class passengers share the business class lounge at Heathrow with other Star Alliance members. The lounge has three areas: low-lit quiet spaces with comfortable chairs for you relax; a central lounge area with a giant TV and a self-service restaurant area where you can help yourself to the hot and cold buffet plus soft drinks and alcohol.
As soon as you step onboard you’ll see why this airline has been awarded recognition as the best Business Class cabin for 3 years consecutively! The cabin itself is very spacious and light and there are two Business Premier sections on the 777-300ER. The larger forward cabin has seven rows and the smaller, more intimate after cabin has four rows (all four-abreast).
The seats are angled and based on the herringbone layout, giving you a greater feeling of personal space whilst you sit in your seat. If you’re travelling with a companion, I would recommend you sit in the middle of the aircraft where you can remove the seat partitions, allowing you to see each other.
The Luxurious leather seats are 22" wide and convert into a fully lie-flat 6' 6" bed - one of the longest in the sky! I tried and tested the seat on-board and it's very comfortable with the thick mattress, fluffy duvet and full-size pillows are provided.
Every 12.1", widescreen, in-seat TV is a touch screen and can be positioned to suit you, whilst sitting up or lying down. You’ll have access to the on-board entertainment system which means you can catch up on all the latest movies, TV series and sports action. For even greater enjoyment, all your entertainment will be enhanced with noise cancelling headphones, meaning you’re always ensured a crisp, clear sound.
Air New Zealand Business Premier provides an excellent and innovative Kiwi dining experience, accompanied by excellent Kiwi wines and you can request drinks and snacks using the touchscreen menu on your TV! If you’re travelling with companions, the separate ottoman footrest at the bottom of your seat can double as a visitor's seat which allows you to dine together - a lovely feature of flying with Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand Business Premier customers are fortunate enough to enjoy a premium check-in service and non-EU passport holders will receive Fast Track invitations to speed their way progress through immigration on arrival in London.
Air New Zealand provides excellent links if you wish to connect to other destinations in New Zealand and Australia.
If you’re interested in flying Air New Zealand Business Class, I would be happy to advise you on the best aircraft, routes and seats, as well as your stopover options. Simply get in touch with your plans, and I will help you book flights or a Business Class round the world ticket.
NB: The Premier Business Class cabin I’ve reviewed here is available on routes between London – Los Angeles – Auckland and some other routes. Due to different aircraft configurations, the Business Class cabin may differ on other routes, but this is what you can expect on routes between London and Auckland.
Senior Travel Consultant
David has travelled far and wide using his passion for photography to chronicle his many journeys, including lemurs in Madagascar, glaciers in Iceland, wild gorillas in Rwanda and stupas in Myanmar. He is an experienced traveller and understands how to combine off-the-beaten-track experiences with comfortable touring, to create a trip of a lifetime. With more than 15 years’ of industry experience he has worked in travel in both the UK and Australia. David joined Travel Nation in 2012 as a round the world specialist and is also one of our Business Class consultants.