V-Flyer

Finally getting around to writing this up, it's been hectic since we got back!

Anyway, after 3 fab weeks in New Zealand it was time to head home. After a quick hop from Wellington to Auckland we passed through some very friendly security checks, where as long as your water/drinks bottle is empty, then you can keep it to refill it airside, a nice change. We settled down in the terminal which has some nice shops and comfy seats, before heading towards the gate when the flight went straight to last call on the boards! Through a quick check of passports and boarding cards into a holding lounge prior to boarding, which was prioritised, but with little space around the entrance to the plane due to the seats, felt a little disorganised.

We found our seats (25J&K) quickly and settled in - only to find that the amenity packs from our seats were missing and that this row only has one window This may change when they remove a row in PE, but useful to know for anyone travelling before that happens.

There were two dedicated crew for the cabin, one of whom came over and introduced himself, and gave us a tutorial on how the seats work and also the IFE. He apologised for the missing amenity packs and assumed that someone may have picked them up on the way through the cabin, but couldn't replace them as there weren't any spare.

The cabin settled down and we set off pretty much on time for the first leg of the flight to LAX and we settled into the new seats, which I found sat in the window to be quite comfortable, but there is definitely an issue getting past the aisle seat even without the seat being reclined. I personally found that I was more comfortable leaving the tv screen in its original position, as I felt it was just a bit too close when pulled out and positioned in front of the angles seat. At least it wasn't too much of an angle from the seating position and I could easily turn to watch the screen. The bean bag on the floor is pretty comfortable, but does need fluffing up occasionally. When reclined I was still comfortable but the seat pocket side was digging into my leg slightly. The extra room will help to solve this.

The food though was on a whole other level compared to anything I've had on VS - admittedly I've never experienced Upper, but since this was in PE, there's a vast difference to what VS offer.

AKL - LAX
Supper
Starters
Duo of kaffir lime cured salmon with Japanese mayonnaise, and beef, coriander and radicchio salad.
Mains
Beef eye fillet steak with black olive and cabernet jus, green beans and golden kumara gratin;
Madras chicken and potato curry with coconut and steamed basmati rice;
Hot smoked salmon salad with salad greens, cherry tomatoes, avocado and mango tarragon and ginger dressing;
Angus pure beef burger with cheese, offered with beetroot and horopito chutney.
Dessert
Chocolate Kahlua truffle slice, lime and mango lamington and vanilla bean pana cotta
Cheese
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese with grapes.




Breakfast
Fruit, yoghurt and bakery.
Hot Breakfast
Potato, tomato, red onion and cheese omelette, with chicken sausage, mushrooms and roasted tomato relish;
Banana and pecan brioche French toast, with vanilla bean cream.



LAX - LHR
Dinner
Starter
Prosciutto, sheep's milk feta and water melon with sherry vinaigrette dressing.
Mains
Seared New Zealand lamb loin with minted crushed peas, confit potatoes and jus;
Curried prawns, chunky vegetable and tofu coconut curry with green rice;
Baked citrus cod with soft herb mash, saffron cream sauce and broccolini;
Wood roasted chicken salad with potato, red onions, cremini mushrooms, zucchini and walnut dressing.
Dessert
Passionfruit cheesecake with passionfruit syrup, and coconut and chocolate mousse.
Cheese
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese with grapes and apricots.



Breakfast
Fruit, yoghurt and bakery
Hot Breakfast
Chedder and chive scrambled egg, with chicken sausage, mushroom ragout and cherry tomatoes;
Belgian waffles, strawberried, manuka honey apple syrup and freshly whipped banana cream.

We de-planed in LAX for a couple of hours, clearing immigration and visiting the transit lounge with tea/coffee/soda & snacks provided, plus free wifi.

The second leg of the journey was also fine, and there was now amenity packs in our seats. Although I didn't sleep at all on this leg, I did catch a few hours on the first leg. There was plenty to watch on the IFE and in seat power to charge my phone. The food was so plentiful that neither of us bothered with the hot breakfast before we landed in LHR. Upon arrival at LHR, we again seemed to be parked the furthest away from the terminal, so a quick 10min trek to immigration followed. Then went to collect our bags which arrived only a few minutes after we did, but I immediately noticed that my new suitcase now had a rip in it, so off to baggage services. They took all the details and a few days later I got a call from K2 who immediately offered a replacement bag, which arrived the following week.

Overall, it was definitely worth the extra in PE for the return journey from NZ for us - hopefully with the extra room it will be even better, and we'll get to try it in another couple of years.

Sorry it's long, but I know some of you were keen to hear a comparison.

Thanks for the TR, always interesting to read an ANZ review. Shame about the amenity packs on the 1st leg, not impressed that you didn't have one!

That burger looks lovely!

From TR's on here and on other sites the food really is at another level as you say

Once the seat row is removed from the PE cabin NZ PE will probably be our choice on the LAX-LHR run.

A great TR - the food sounds and looks great, the burger caught my eye for sure

Heard great things about ANZ on long-haul. Have travelled with them domestically and on the Tasman routes a couple fo years back and they were superb then too.

Food for thought for VS me thinks..

Sounds like great service and trip, apart from the missing amenity pack. Like others I have to compliment the burger, looks absolutely nom.

Thanks for a great TR!

Thank you for the TR and pics. Shame about the missing amenity pack.