The plane was late in from New Zealand, but they seemed to turn it around quite quickly. On boarding last it clear to see that the flight was not that busy. I was able to have 4 seats, which is quite rare these days. The seat was very comfortable and the legroom is superb. It makes a big difference to someone who is over 6ft.
Soon after take off we were served a hot breakfast etc. Throughout the flight drinks were served every 45 minutes or so and a hot toastie plus Hagan daaz were served mid way through. AVOD is great for day flights as the choice is so wide for both films and TV.
Lunch was served 2 hours from London and before I knew it what seemed like a potential long 13-hour slog back to London was over.
I think Air New Zealand offer a fantastic service in economy I have read in other reports that they do the basics very well, but lack the shine. As much as I hate to say it both Virgin and BA are not consistent at the basics. I understand about the shine, but that could be that the cabin colour scheme is quite grey. However, if you are fed up of flying economy and being cramped in your seat for a long time and you usually fly Virgin/BA to HK or LA then I would give Air New Zealand a go. You can also collect Virgin miles on Air New Zealand.