Most of you know that the Business Premium Seats on ANZ planes are basically the same as VS UC and as I'm sat in the ANZ lounge at LAX waiting for the NZ2 to take me home I thought I'd give you a quick comparison.
For this exercise I flew to Auckland on a 777-300 via LAX and back to LAX on a 777-200. I'm waiting to fly to LHR and another 777-300 (which I just saw arrive 20 minutes after the VS7)
Check In - A draw - both are efficient, pleasant and easy to use (I do prefer T3 though)
Lounge - VS wins - the Star Alliance lounge in T1 is rubbish compared to the T3 clubhouse. The Auckland lounge was OK but very plain as is the lounge at LAX.
Boarding - ANZ wins - clear lines of demarcation for business class (yet to experience LAX).
Cabin - A draw - both cabins are almost identical
Seats - ANZ wins - I flew out on the 777-300 which has the newer seats and these are more comfortable and they have memory foam mattresses. I slept like a log on the way out. Very rare for me. The seats on the 777-200 are basically the same as VS.
IFE - ANZ wins - touch screens with real time movies and you can watch it from gate to gate on the 777-300. The 777-200 system is much the same as VS. Sorry forgot to add that the 777-300 also has USB charging points at each seat and yo can watch content from you iPhone, iPad etc. How cool is that.
Food - A slight win for ANZ - what swung it was eggs benedict on the way out for breakfast.
Crew - A draw - the ANZ crews are very good and I couldn't fault them at all. Although we've had a couple of bad experiences with VS this is reflected in the fact that we fly with them several times a year so the chances are you're going to get a few inconsistencies.
Overall - I'd have to give it to ANZ for the memory foam mattresses alone but I think the new 777-300 provides a better experience. If you're on the older 777-200 then it would have been a draw.
Miopyk 8D
For this exercise I flew to Auckland on a 777-300 via LAX and back to LAX on a 777-200. I'm waiting to fly to LHR and another 777-300 (which I just saw arrive 20 minutes after the VS7)
Check In - A draw - both are efficient, pleasant and easy to use (I do prefer T3 though)
Lounge - VS wins - the Star Alliance lounge in T1 is rubbish compared to the T3 clubhouse. The Auckland lounge was OK but very plain as is the lounge at LAX.
Boarding - ANZ wins - clear lines of demarcation for business class (yet to experience LAX).
Cabin - A draw - both cabins are almost identical
Seats - ANZ wins - I flew out on the 777-300 which has the newer seats and these are more comfortable and they have memory foam mattresses. I slept like a log on the way out. Very rare for me. The seats on the 777-200 are basically the same as VS.
IFE - ANZ wins - touch screens with real time movies and you can watch it from gate to gate on the 777-300. The 777-200 system is much the same as VS. Sorry forgot to add that the 777-300 also has USB charging points at each seat and yo can watch content from you iPhone, iPad etc. How cool is that.
Food - A slight win for ANZ - what swung it was eggs benedict on the way out for breakfast.
Crew - A draw - the ANZ crews are very good and I couldn't fault them at all. Although we've had a couple of bad experiences with VS this is reflected in the fact that we fly with them several times a year so the chances are you're going to get a few inconsistencies.
Overall - I'd have to give it to ANZ for the memory foam mattresses alone but I think the new 777-300 provides a better experience. If you're on the older 777-200 then it would have been a draw.
Miopyk 8D
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