Flights to New Zealand - who are the best airlines to use?

[Beltie]

Flew Quantas Hong Kong to Melbourne , never again . Lazy , work shy and rude cabin crew .

That's my experience as well. I'm pretty sure Dame Edna was amongst the cabin crew on my last flight!

 

[Holly's mum]

We fly with Singapore Airline, in my opinion the best. We always stay over in Singapore at the Transit Hotel, which helps get over the jet lag a bit. We been 9 times now.

What class do you fly David? Premium Economy?

 

[Tonks]

I flew Air NEw Zealand.
The only thing I would say is that I would never fly all the way through without a break again! I came home Christchurch-Auckland-LAX-LHR and I was absolutely exhausted. I would definitely break the journey for at least 24 hours next time.
And paying to go Business is definitely worth it if you can. Having the space to stretch out and sleep is fantastic. I’ve had a few BC flights trans-Atlantic and the difference is phenomenal.
I’ve done quite a few Premium Economy flights to and from RSA and I’d say that while they were nice thanks to the extra room, I didn’t actually find I could sleep any better (and on quieter flights it was actually worse for sleeping than in economy since you can’t stretch out over the neighbouring seat if it’s free) so on a UK -NZ trip I’d pay for business if I possibly could.

 

[Mousy]

We went via Singapore where we stayed for 5 days, really enjoyed it, a great place to explore. Then onto Auckland with Qatar business class. One of the best business flights we’ve experienced so would recommend them.
As others have said on a flight that long, try to upgrade as much as you can afford or break the flights up with decent stopovers.

I’ll ask friends in Nz who they use cos they go PE. Might be a few days.

 

[gpat]

What did Emirates do to upset you....? I've always considered them to be about the best (Business class) .... a good way infront of Singapore and far away in front of Korean......the Chinese airlines I've used have only been 'localish' but very forgettable as were Japans airline Tokyo to London......

We must have been unlucky. We just didn't like the culture. Found the far eastern airlines to be friendlier and more generous. I know it's a matter of experience and choice. We only did Etihad once and Emirates once. Both just one way. We just didn't enjoy the experiences and the uneven splits of the journeys. Didn't like Abu Dhabi or Dubai airports either. We had a horrible experience on one of the Etihad flights. It was more the passengers and particularly a couple of middle eastern people

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[Carpmart]

Hello Yvette

I (unfortunately) used to work in Aus and NZ but was based in the UK. I flew in excess of 20 times from the UK to Aus/NZ in a two and a bit year period. I was mainly working in Sydney and Wellington.

For the long parts of the travel, I’ve routed via KL, Singapore & Dubai, all much of a muchness. I’ve flown on every airline delivering these routes. They all compete with each other meaning with Premium Economy, there is so little to choose between each airlines offer, your decision can be based on flight timings and cost. I mainly flew business, but when booked at short notice and or very busy flights, I’ve done it a few times in premium economy too!

How long are you going for? Is it ‘just’ NZ or Aus too?

 

[Parrot Face]

Been with Emirates a few times but recently found them a bit mean when it came to drinks etc. Crew gave a lot of attention to a Hen night gang serving them non stop drinks, when I asked for a lager crew told me "I just gave you one". They had about half an hour earlier, guy behind me passed me his that he didn't want. Etihad on last trip were terrible , tv screen covered in dried food and on two legs didn't work, again mean with non alcoholic drinks. Air New Zealand fabulous, they seemed to have more leg room and as stated the mature cabin crew knew how to look after people. I also liked Quantas on a previous trip but Air NZ my choice when we go again.

 

[Widge]

We fly with Singapore Airline, in my opinion the best. We always stay over in Singapore at the Transit Hotel, which helps get over the jet lag a bit. We been 9 times now.

I was suprised that until now Singapore Airlines hadn't been mentioned, I hope is is not becouse of the tragic incident that happened recently, it wouldn't have mattered what airline or class you were flying, the only thing that would have reduced injuries, is to wear you seatbelt all the time that you are seated, even if you loosen it off a bit.

I flew Singapore Airlines to Australia, with a 36 hour stopover in Singapore, admittedly before covid, but even in cattle class I thought we had excellent service.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Thanks everyone, lots more options for me to research

For a “once in a lifetime “trip like this (well not for bobnick !) I would recommend using a company like Trailfinders to book everything. Should anything go wrong, there is one invoice to claim for on insurance and there is a very good helpline for queries and problems. They can suggest the best deals. We had everything on the one booking, international flights, internal NZ flight, hotels on stopover and on first / last night, MH hire and inter island ferry.

 

[Holly's mum]

Hello Yvette

I (unfortunately) used to work in Aus and NZ but was based in the UK. I flew in excess of 20 times from the UK to Aus/NZ in a two and a bit year period. I was mainly working in Sydney and Wellington.

For the long parts of the travel, I’ve routed via KL, Singapore & Dubai, all much of a muchness. I’ve flown on every airline delivering these routes. They all compete with each other meaning with Premium Economy, there is so little to choose between each airlines offer, your decision can be based on flight timings and cost. I mainly flew business, but when booked at short notice and or very busy flights, I’ve done it a few times in premium economy too!

How long are you going for? Is it ‘just’ NZ or Aus too?

Hi Harvey,
We are just going to NZ. We are thinking 10-12 weeks, as we will only go the once. We've been to Singapore & Hong Kong a few years ago (HK before it went back to China rule), as we had friends who lived out there for a while, so not fussed about visiting again, although we did love HK and we're not fussed about seeing Dubai (apologies to all those who love it ), so were thinking of just ploughing straight through on connecting flights, especially coming home.

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[Dolmen]

Have you tried any of the Cathy, Malaysia, Korean airlines?

Used Cathy a number of times and always had good flights, wont comment on the other two, however, know what you are getting at. Reason I suggested Emirates is that if you get the upstairs on the A380, business class feels like other airlines first Class. I am not snobbish about which airline we use and have found airlines such as Avianca Business and First tremendous for South America and indeed even good old British Airways have upped their game in Business Class and refitted their cabins out to the cabin within a cabin format, we had a great flight to New York a few weeks ago with them and are going to Los Angeles with them at the weekend. The big problem (IMHO) with BA and American Airlines is that they have appalling customer service on board, they seem insulted to be serving you, you can normally win them round, however, you shouldn't have to, by en large the middle and far eastern airlines win out here, hands down. My own opinion, and appreciate not everyone can make these choices is that for long haul flights economy to business is worth it, economy to premium economy is not

 

[Widge]

Flew back from Houston in 2016 on a 777 i forget which airline, the front half was packed to the gunnels, admittedly with flash pod type seats, back in cattle class we had the choice of about three rows of seats each, pleanty of room to sleep, good sevice, and at least half the price of those up front.

 

[The general]

We flew Korean Air via Seoul. Well priced and great service

How long was that flight ??

 

[The general]

Having the space to stretch out and sleep is fantastic

Reminds me of one trip , Sydney to london via Singapore , very very lucky , a lot of people got off at Singapore and i had all five seats all way to london to stretch out and kip !

 

[DuxDeluxe]

How long was that flight ??

About 11 to Seoul, 3 hour layover then I think 13 to Auckland. Similar on the way back though +1 hour on the ICN/LHR leg due to headwinds. Return leg had a 19 hour layover in Seoul (could have extended the layover but didn’t because I used to visit twice a year) and Korean Air put us up in the Grand Hyatt with dinner and breakfast thrown in

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[Arthur01]

Last year we flew LHR to Singapore - Singapore Airlines - 2 day stop over, then same airline to Christchurch. Premium Economy. Very good service and had an email where we could choose our meals from about 8 different options over & above the 'normal' menu. Our return was via Canada ( to see some friends) this was Air New Zealand Premium Economy again great service but not as good as Singapore Airlines re food. We then flew with Air Canada Premium to LHR. Would try not to use them again as I seemed to be an inconvenience when I asked for a meal - they missed me out on the trolly run. Bearing in mind we were in Premium & towards the front of the area they had previously asked what meal of 3 option we wanted 1 being veggie I opted for Chicken only to be told they didn't have any so there was only 1 option for me. I considered the additional cost was a waste as we saw nothing that improved from the standard cabin.
This year we are flying the opposite way (Westwards) from LHR with BA Premium to Seattle - 3 day stop over then to San Francisco (internal with Alaskan) then Air New Zealand to Auckland Premium. The return Is Air New Zealand to Vancouver (visiting friends for a couple of weeks) then BA Premium to LHR.
As we had done Singapore & Hong Kong before this was a different route to take but with the subsequent unrest under the air corridors travelling West this time may have been an unintentional good move.
Arthur.

 

[starquake]

Top tip, is don't fly from UK. You avoid all the premium APT tax that way. Business if often same price ex-Sweden or Holland as Premium economy from London.

Then just take a BA flight or Easyjet the DAY before and have an extra days holiday before you go... it'll cost pennies.

Example when we went Thailand peak season in Christmas 2019-2020 -> ex-UK business was £9k. ex-Sweden it was £2600 (for 2) so 1300 per person.

Economy out of London was 900, Premium 1800 (per person). So yes, out of Sweden it was CHEAPER in business than out of UK in Premium. There were 6 other couples on same flight doing the same (all out of UK). We had a small stopover in Sweden on way to and from Thailand. It was a connecting flight in Qatar (to Bangkok), out of Stockholm but there were flights every hour near enouh from Qatar to Bangkok so if we had been delayed on the Swedish leg there would have been no issue moving us. It was basically land, go through security, go to lounge for 30 mins, then board the Bangkok next leg.

And whoever you fly on be sure to collect the airmiles, a Premium flight that distance is usually somewhere between £30-100 in Nectar points back if you don't use in flights... (you can convert many airmiles schemes to shop points).

 

[starquake]

Should add who to take, I'd actually reccomend Qatar over Air New Zealand. It'll need a connection in Qatar (all their flights are to/from Qatar with connections). The food on board is actually excellent (in business) and the q-suites on quite a few (not a majority yet) of their planes in business are unique, you can share your own private cabin with your other half if you lucky that way (and if > 2 of you going you can get qsuites in a full family of 4 config). This doesn't cost extra.

Air New Zealand when I last was on one of their flights (they fly from UK via LA (meaning you also need a US ESTA, which you don't via Qatar)) was a similar cabin design to the old Virgin Atlantic suites in business. It was okay, but the food wasn't a patch on Qatars.

When my extended family done a trip to Western Aus, they liked Emirates via Dubai.

When checking where is cheapest to fly from, it's usually one of following Stockholm, Paris, Amsterdam, Helinski or occasionally Bucharest. Obviously Paris is simplest to get from and cheapest so you only need to allow for a train journey for that connection.

Worth noting if you get a "combined" booking from a travel agent, ie, all on one printout they DO charge UK APT. To fully avoid it, you need 2 seperate bookings, one day before your flight to the destination and one the day after you get back.. .back to the UK. Then a seperate booking from whereever cheapest when you check prices from say Amsterdam to New Zealand. Sweden, Finland and Holland are usually the cheapest as these don't have the same sort of airline taxes that the UK charge.

Obviously as seperate bookings you get no "protection" against delays on the first flight which is why we do it a day before typically.. we have booked a flight home on the same day as arriving back in Sweden on way home though... knowing if we fail to make the connection we can just afford to wait out a cheap ryanair home. Should also add if you use BA for the Swedish leg home say Qatar have been reasonably good historically at checking through your baggage, so you don't need to get the baggage out then checkin back to airport in Sweden on way home even if the 2 bookings are on seperate bookings. BA will not do the reverse on way out, so you do need to collect bags and recheck them the next day to GO to NZ.

 

[HugoBNB]

For a “once in a lifetime “trip like this (well not for bobnick !) I would recommend using a company like Trailfinders to book everything. Should anything go wrong, there is one invoice to claim for on insurance and there is a very good helpline for queries and problems. They can suggest the best deals. We had everything on the one booking, international flights, internal NZ flight, hotels on stopover and on first / last night, MH hire and inter island ferry.

We have just done the same for our upcoming trip. I must say that we have been very impressed with Trailfinder's service and attention to detail right down to the recommending the best seats for the long-haul flights. We were more than happy with the cost of them too.

 

[bigwood]

We flew Emirates via Dubai and Sydney. No problems with Emirates but Dubai was a mess. We should have had lots of time to change flights but they changed the departure time because of an incoming sand storm. After rushing across the airport they changed the times again meaning we had an hour sat in the terminal. The ladies toilets had no running water so I took mrs in the Gents. When we boarded eventually we sat on the apron for another hour before taking off.
An amusing side after this was being given a pie for breakfast coming into Sydney. When we left Sydney we were given another breakfast fortunately not pies.

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[starquake]

We have just done the same for our upcoming trip. I must say that we have been very impressed with Trailfinder's service and attention to detail right down to the recommending the best seats for the long-haul flights. We were more than happy with the cost of them too.

Any decent agent is like this -> we personally use a agent with Travel Counsellors (Emma Otter) for these kind of things, and she has a full team to deal with disruptions if they happen. Definitely worth considering if you have connections to make (we typically use Emma for itiniarys joining/leaving cruises in odd locations to protect the cruise fare in effect if we have a flight problem).

But worth noting you may WANT two bookings precisely to avoid substatial UK APT if you not joining say a cruise. (it's near £600 per person for a premium cabin on a plane!).

Should add another thing if it is a once in a lifetime trip to consider which may float your boat -> is you can also get a round the world fare in a cabin of your choice. The rules on these are usually you have to keep going in a direction, so for example you can fly Japan to Aus to New Zealand (as it's all eastbound) or the reverse, but cannot do a leg that involves going in other direction like say Japan to Indonesia to Australia. So you effectively have to fly home via US (or south america) if you take one of those fares, and out via asia. But it can result in an interesting itinary for less than you would think (RTW fares in economy start at about £3k, and were about 6-9k in business). They also need to all stay in a single airline alliance typically, so you can have Qantas, BA, American, and other oneworld airlines in the mix if on a oneworld ticket, or Air France, Delta, or any skyteam airline on their ticket (Virgin, KLM, qualify).

Edit should clarify on a RTW fare you can stop at ANY destination for however long you want, just can't backtrack. Makes for a very reasonably priced round world experirence covering multiple destnations.

 

[KASPAR]

Top tip, is don't fly from UK. You avoid all the premium APT tax that way. Business if often same price ex-Sweden or Holland as Premium economy from London.

Then just take a BA flight or Easyjet the DAY before and have an extra days holiday before you go... it'll cost pennies.

Example when we went Thailand peak season in Christmas 2019-2020 -> ex-UK business was £9k. ex-Sweden it was £2600 (for 2) so 1300 per person.

Economy out of London was 900, Premium 1800 (per person). So yes, out of Sweden it was CHEAPER in business than out of UK in Premium. There were 6 other couples on same flight doing the same (all out of UK). We had a small stopover in Sweden on way to and from Thailand. It was a connecting flight in Qatar (to Bangkok), out of Stockholm but there were flights every hour near enouh from Qatar to Bangkok so if we had been delayed on the Swedish leg there would have been no issue moving us. It was basically land, go through security, go to lounge for 30 mins, then board the Bangkok next leg.

And whoever you fly on be sure to collect the airmiles, a Premium flight that distance is usually somewhere between £30-100 in Nectar points back if you don't use in flights... (you can convert many airmiles schemes to shop points).

Be aware that travel insurance may not be valid using the method you describe. Check that your insurance allows the journey to start in a country other than the UK, which is where the journey you describe by taking separate flights to another country, then commence another journey, not from the UK.

 

[starquake]

Be aware that travel insurance may not be valid using the method you describe. Check that your insurance allows the journey to start in a country other than the UK, which is where the journey you describe by taking separate flights to another country, then commence another journey, not from the UK.

By that logic any "self booked" Ryanair would not be covered by insurance (ie, going UK to Sweden to Italy say). (As Ryanair only sell point to point fares). This is not the case as I have made many claims on many such bookings.

My insurance does cover me for this, as do "most" -> but I agree it's something you need to check terms on, but arguably if it doesn't it won't cover a multi-hop leaving uk to another country onto a third on a seperate airline.... the need for these to be on a single PNR IS needed for protection by ABTA typically via an agency, however is NOT necessary for the majority of insurances I have ever owned. As an example Jet2, and US airlines like Jetblue and Southwest are also point to point, so don't fit on a general PNR. The key for insurance is being able to prove you booked it before you left UK, which a simple receipt ansers (having done quite a few claims).

I've been booking outside of protection of agencies for many years mostly due to owning a timeshare in US -> where you literally can't combine flights and hotels (and we often go UK -> US -> Caribbean and then back sometimes from Barbados to UK).

It is worth noting Insurance claim could be difficult, but you usually on disruption ring the insurer to inform from airport then book the cheapest same class (ie, Business) on another airline, and leave it to your insurer to handle the consequences such as claiming it back from the airline that caused the knock on delays where possible (EU264 claim from them to the airline). These days its rare even BA would book you on another carrier to minimise the impact to your holiday (despite the legal imperative to do so), so by booking yourself you minimise the impact to yourself which is perfectly acceptable. I've never had a claim denied on this basis.

If you do book away from agency my general rule is you need available funds for any single leg to be booked immediately in same class on a last minute fare.... or you risk being stuck for days waiting on the airline that failed you.

Should edit -> I have an annual policy so of course it covers going via third countrys. The restriction on mine is a single trip out of UK to any amount of countrys then home can be no longer than 90 days. A "single trip" policy would never cover the above.

 

[The general]

Be aware that travel insurance may not be valid using the method you describe. Check that your insurance allows the journey to start in a country other than the UK, which is where the journey you describe by taking separate flights to another country, then commence another journey, not from the UK.

Yes , there was an item about this on a news program recently , somebody fell sick ? And they ended up with a massive bill to get repatriated ? Because their insurance didnt cover that sort of routing ???

 

[starquake]

Yes , there was an item about this on a news program recently , somebody fell sick ? And they ended up with a massive bill to get repatriated ? Because their insurance didnt cover that sort of routing ???

Yeah, usually a bad policy if that is case, a true worldwide policy has to cover this due to how the low cost carreirs work now with many treating all flights as "singles" legally.

As said as someone who has independantly travelled across the world for quite a few years this is honestly not as large an issue as media seem to make out -> as said in most cases insurance is claimable. I have actually claimed in such circumstances when have got stuck too. You do obviously need to choose a insurer with terms that don't prohibit this and which require a single PNR/itiniary from a travel agent -> but if you do this you'll also be paying a lot more sometimes as you can't take advantage of the excellent fares available from Europe.

Some travel agents will also book it all but seperate to two PNR's (but one itiary for insurance), you always avoid UK APT if you stop overnight in a third country before starting a new trip. The ABTA agent will then protect you in that case (and this is teh "safer" way to do it - but may limit you as if you do this the agent has to price in GBP ... and the airlines know this so the best deals only available if paid in Euro).

Remember what you are saying with insurance would all but make backpacking holidays in Australia/Asia impossible if it was not possible, as it's quite common to fly to Bangkok, go to Singapore then Indonesia, then Vietnam, often booking flights whilst out there.

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[Widge]

Any decent agent is like this -> we personally use a agent with Travel Counsellors (Emma Otter) for these kind of things, and she has a full team to deal with disruptions if they happen. Definitely worth considering if you have connections to make (we typically use Emma for itiniarys joining/leaving cruises in odd locations to protect the cruise fare in effect if we have a flight problem).

But worth noting you may WANT two bookings precisely to avoid substatial UK APT if you not joining say a cruise. (it's near £600 per person for a premium cabin on a plane!).

Should add another thing if it is a once in a lifetime trip to consider which may float your boat -> is you can also get a round the world fare in a cabin of your choice. The rules on these are usually you have to keep going in a direction, so for example you can fly Japan to Aus to New Zealand (as it's all eastbound) or the reverse, but cannot do a leg that involves going in other direction like say Japan to Indonesia to Australia. So you effectively have to fly home via US (or south america) if you take one of those fares, and out via asia. But it can result in an interesting itinary for less than you would think (RTW fares in economy start at about £3k, and were about 6-9k in business). They also need to all stay in a single airline alliance typically, so you can have Qantas, BA, American, and other oneworld airlines in the mix if on a oneworld ticket, or Air France, Delta, or any skyteam airline on their ticket (Virgin, KLM, qualify).

Edit should clarify on a RTW fare you can stop at ANY destination for however long you want, just can't backtrack. Makes for a very reasonably priced round world experirence covering multiple destnations.

In 2016 (so things may have changed) we went to the states we checked prices from Paris, Barcelona and London which were similar. Out of interest we tried Dublin, massively cheaper, from here in southern france we were going to have to do a short haul, or tgv to get to a suitable airport, so dublin was as easy as any other, the best bit was dublin airport has a US customs and immigration hall so you did everything before you go on the flight and landed at a domestic terminal when we got to the US.

 

[starquake]

In 2016 (so things may have changed) we went to the states we checked prices from Paris, Barcelona and London which were similar. Out of interest we tried Dublin, massively cheaper, from here in southern france we were going to have to do a short haul, or tgv to get to a suitable airport, so dublin was as easy as any other, the best bit was dublin airport has a US customs and immigration hall so you did everything before you go on the flight and landed at a domestic terminal when we got to the US.

Yeah our friends on the last disney trip (school hols) we took with them (2019) went via dublin (in economy) via the split fare trick.

Flights to dublin inc baggage for family were £200 return.

Return Flights to Orlando from London were... £1100 in economy each (yes thats schoool holiday price from virgin or BA).
From Dublin.... £400.

And as you say, they arrived pre-cleared as passed customs in Dublin, and the total trip was £2.4k cheaper going via Dublin for the 4 of them.. And more convienient as they flew to Dublin from City airport which was far nearer their home in essex.

They actually done it on a single PNR so the connection was "protected" as at time the taxes were not retrospectively applied to the UK leg as they are now, my friend said with the rules now, he'd stay over one night in Dublin instead of staying near London City airport the night before... £2.4k is a LOT towards spends in US.

 

[starquake]

Should say in my mind not checking indirect routings is missing an opportunity not to have a second holiday for the same price - as agents rarely will tell you these routings or excellent deals.

I did miss mentioning Dublin before as for Asia/NZ we've usually found that route more expensive than the Norther European ones and this thread was about NZ. But for going to US or west, absoluely pick Dublin. (The reason for this is Air Lingus who offer many of the cheaper fares do not fly east as a general rule).

 

[Foo Fighter]

It's not a recomend from me but it's one to avoid. We've just returned from NZ using China Southern. On our previous visits we've used Korean - excellent. Quantas - mediocre and BA. - poor with terrible leg room.
China Southern are probably the cheapest at the moment. But it's the old adage 'you get what you pay for'. 7 or 8 hour layover in Guangzou which is very modern, but is abysmal with nothing to do and not even a bar to while away the time till reboarding. The food on the a/c is some of the worst we've ever had the misfortune to be served. Ps. we like Chinese food, but this is beyond description. Oh and don't expect a decent drink. It doesn't exist on these flights. Air NZ don't fly to UK anymore. And they have very strict baggage weight restrictions on internal flights once you get to NZ. Air Chathams are good, but much more expensive

 

[KASPAR]

BA isn't known as Bloody Awful for no reason. Prior to that it was Better On A Camel (BOAC), always been dreadful as far as I can recall. Having flown regularly and extensively since 1964, over 5million miles in the air.

Spent decades flying for work, on average every 10 days. Mostly in Business and First.

Since those days prefer to go east about on Emirates. NZ AKL via DBX, often with 2 nights Atlantis on the Palm, gratis. The more sectors you do, the lower the fare. Return via Oz, Singapore, DBX if you are not on a timetable. Etihad and Qatar are good too.

West about use Virgin Upper Class, not too bad. Certainly better than Bloody Awful and most US carriers.

Do miss the wide bodied DC10, been twice around the world in them. A380 upper deck is great.

There are deals out there on Business Class, certainly wouldn't go below for NZ.

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