We are looking at travelling in the next 2-3 months and a friend recommended Air New Zealand instead of Qantas.
Main reason he said was NZ Premium Economy is much cheaper, apparently Qantas is 3 times more.
Had been looking for a few weeks now and missed the 8-hr sale….
We just wonder why? Can someone share their experience please? Thanks heaps!
P/s- prefer transit Seattle or Vancouver, hoping to avoid LA.
Username checks out (2nd paragraph)
Air NZ have one of the best premium economy products, better than Qantas IMO. However, I would much rather choose the option with the least amount of transits and travel time. Air NZ have a direct flight from AKL-SFO which connects well with their BNE-AKL flight. I would choose this rather than adding in another transit in YVR/SEA. Air Canada could also be a good option in premium economy but I would avoid them in economy as they have the smallest seats between Aus and USA.
I've transited LAX before and didn't find it too difficult or slow compared to other US airports (Denver, Chicago, etc.). However, the best transit points are those outside of USA/Canada (Australia, AKL, etc.) as your bags will be tagged to the final destination and you won't need to collect them while in transit. If you transit in SEA or YVR you will need to collect your bags to go through US Customs and Immigration and then drop them off again. It is this process that results in the most people missing their onward connections. If you were to transit in AKL or SYD and land in SFO as your first point of entry to the USA you only collect your bags and go through Customs in SFO and then it doesn't matter if they are slow to process you because you are already at your final destination.
Air NZ have a direct flight from AKL-SFO which connects well with their BNE-AKL flight.
+1, seems like the perfect option to me.
Thanks all for responding.
The SEA/YVR are thrown in b'coz we thought there was a free stop-over, for a couple of nights. But this is gone now.
So back to the drawing board. Yes least transit is best.
Tempted by the Qantas promo on double status credit …
A friend of ours flew NZ premium economy and really enjoyed it, especially if you get then newer cabins which they promote all the time.
Personally, we dislike premium economy, we have flown several different airlines, several years back - and decided it is either a flat bed or nothing when we fly.
That said, consider flying Air Canada as it goes directly to Vancouver and you avoid transiting (in Auckland for example if you go the NZ route).