Air New Zealand
Route: Sydney-LA-Heathrow.
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400.
Lounge: the lounge in Sydney had a good selection of food including sandwiches, cereal and fish. However, the lounge in LA was difficult to get to as you had to clear customs in the US. This involved filling out an immigration form and queuing around 15mins to pass customs. Then I had to walk outside the airport before entering again to clear security and reach the departure gate. On arrival the selection of food was poor – cheese, crisps and nuts only – and the business facility had only four booths.
Journey time and punctuality: both flights from Sydney and LA took off late but arrived on time. The total flight time was around 23hrs.
Service: on the Sydney-LA leg the steward was friendly but I did not see the stewardess smile once. However, the service on the LA-Heathrow leg was a great improvement with friendly, amenable steward and stewardess who consistently smiled, remembered my vegetarian requirements and engaged bored passengers in conversation.
Seats: were in need of some tender loving care on the Sydney-LA leg. I could not read the buttons as the instructions had worn away. Consequently my legs flew up when I was trying to recline my seat and vice-versa. My TV was also loose and tended to slip down to the floor and hit my leg. The winged headrest was comfy and the pillows and blanket were of good quality. Storage space was plentiful with side compartments for those in window seats.
Food and wine: one set starter, three choices for main and two for dessert. On the Sydney-LA leg the smoothie was a nice touch to the start of the breakfast but the toast was rock solid. The vegetarian option for both breakfast and dinner was bland. The choice of wines were excellent with four reds, six white, two sparkling and one dessert wine. The breakfast was a lot better on the LA-Heathrow leg with warm toast and an impressive selection of fruit.
In-flight entertainment: 10 channels, but the film selection was poor.
Added extras: great amenity kit with aromatherapy rehydration gel and massage roller as well as the usual paraphernalia.
Overall opinion: great if you want to stop in LA on the return but no advantage to the journey time and service via Asia. Improvement on seats and vegetarian food required.