Air New Zealand B747-400 Business Premier

Published: 01/02/2010 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Air New Zealand »

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BACKGROUND Air New Zealand’s London Heathrow to Los Angeles route is served by its long-serving B747-400s, which are in the process of being retired to make way for the more advanced but smaller B777-300ER. The service runs twice daily (morning and afternoon). ANZ’s Business Premier seat is licensed from Virgin Atlantic, and will be familiar to anyone who has travelled in the latter’s Upper Class cabin. This flight, NZ001, continues on to ANZ’s hub at Auckland, my final destination.

CHECK-IN I tried my hardest to find a way to check-in online. Either I didn’t look hard enough or it simply doesn’t exist. However, it is still possible to choose seating online as long as it’s done well enough in advance. I was happy with my seat, 13A, which was in the second of two Business Premier cabins on the lower deck (with a third on the upper level), so I did not change. It should be noted here that the forward cabin, rows one to seven, are reserved for those among the higher echelons of ANZ and the Star Alliance’s loyalty programmes, and Victoria Beckham.

I arrived at LHR Terminal 1 two (and a bit) hours before my 1545 departure time on flight NZ1, and made my way to ANZ’s check-in desks at zones D and E. Zone D, for ANZ’s Business Premier passengers, was basically empty. During check-in I was met by ANZ’s airport concierge, who directed me to the fast-track security lane and the Star Alliance shared lounge.

THE LOUNGE The Star Alliance lounge was quite a walk away from security and tucked away in a far off corner – I was glad to have been given directions. The lounge is on one floor roughly divided into three distinct areas. The first area you walk into is a sort of food hall with a buffet that while not hugely imaginative was more than adequately stocked. I ate warm ham and cheese quiche (delicious) and a plate full of “pan Asian starters”, in other words samosas, spring rolls and onion bahjis. The second area, which I avoided, looked very much like a departure gate waiting area complete with moody faces. The rest of the lounge was divided up into smaller nooks and crannies with ambient lighting, various kinds of chair and a business zone that Star seems to have tried its hardest to hide. I settled here to use the free wifi.

My ticket said boarding would begin at 1415 but I was told by the lady at the lounge registration desk that it would be more like 1515, which I thought was strange. However, ANZ had another body in the lounge, Carole, whose task it was to round us all up (handy given that there are no PA announcements there). I decided to test Carole to see exactly what she would do at 1515, but I lost my nerve with ten minutes to go and left for Gate 49.

BOARDING Gate 49 was at least ten minutes walk away at a medium pace, a little too far if you ask me. When I got there I found a queue but I was able to duck around most of it to get to the Business Premier priority lane. I was quickly on board and settled within ten minutes. The cabin crew offered champagne, water or orange juice, I opted for the former which was a delicious Piper Heidseick. There was plenty of space in the overhead locker, and in the cabin in general so there wasn’t too much pushing and shoving. All in all a very civilised boarding experience. There were four noisy Americans sitting next to me and chatting loudly about ex-Spice girls, but once I’d sat down I found that the wall separating us blocked the sound out almost completely. The full over-ear headphones did the rest.

THE SEAT The second Business Premier cabin on the lower deck is configured 1-2-1 (A-EF-K), with the middle two seats in each row facing away from one another and separated by a wall. Click here to see the seatplan.

ANZ’s decision to scrap First class, replacing it with an enhanced business class product, appears to have been a prudent one. I found my seat to be extremely comfortable, with adjustable recline and lumbar support, cosy and above all private. It may not be the First class of Emirates or SIA, but I was able to sleep quite easily. When not in fully-flat mode, the seat has a foot rest that doubles as a small seat, complete with its own belt. A table comes out of the cubicle wall, and the IFE can be moved around to suit pretty much any seating position. I was able to stretch out on the bed despite being reasonably tall at just over six foot.

The IFE screen is large but the software slightly dated and slow. It felt sluggish and I often had to press buttons twice. Frustrating. The film selection was great with a nice mix of new releases and classics.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? In my cabin I would not go for a seat in either the first row (ten) or the last (15). Row ten is probably less desirable being right next to the toilets and a curtain. The seats on the other aisle to mine seemed to be served first too, so you’re prone to food envy go for F or K in whichever row. If you want an air of exclusivity, and have enough frequent flyer privileges, go for a seat in the nose cabin (rows one to seven). I’m told the cabin on the upper deck is much quieter, which is something to consider.

THE FLIGHT We pushed off at around 1545 and left the tarmac 15 minutes later putting us a little behind schedule. The captain did spend some of the extra time explaining the delay, before going on to describe weather conditions in LA over the past few weeks. A little too much information perhaps, but interesting none the less.

About an hour into the flight began the dinner service. On this flight the menu was five spice smoked duck breast on mango and cranberry salsa with salad, followed by New Zealand lamb cutlet, coconut and coriander prawn curry, chicken penne or a mushroom and sun dried tomato tart. Since I was heading to New Zealand, I went for the lamb (you’ve got to, right?). I was not disappointed. The food was excellent and there was enough of it. Unfortunately I skipped dessert as I was talking to our in-flight concierge Mark, but I’m not really a sweets person anyway. Instead I went straight to the cheese and crackers. The cheese was varied but I could have done with more and the crackers were a little measly.

Wine onboard this flight were as follows: Whites – Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008, With Hills Marlborough Chardonnay 2007. Reds – Forrest Pinot Noir 2007, Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. I had the pinot noir, which went very well with my lamb.

Around six hours into the flight, we were offered smoothies or orange juice, kicking off the light refreshment service. As I'd slept this felt more like a breakfast service. After some fruit and tea/coffee, we were served sandwiches (three cheese and rocket, roast beef and horseradish and smoked salmon and cream cheese) and warm scones with clotted cream and jam.

ARRIVAL We landed in Los Angeles at around 1825 local time, slightly ahead of time. Getting off the plane was pretty quick and painless, everyone had already packed away all their books and toys well in advance of our descent, so there was very little time spent waiting for hand luggage to be taken down from the overhead lockers. There was less than two hours before my onward flight to Auckland and I had a little work to do, so I opted to stay in the transit lounge at LAX. As one of the first off I was soon through US security, which in these days of heightened security consists of finger printing and a quick digital photograph.

VERDICT As a business/first class flat-bed hybrid, Business Premier works rather well. For the price, the service was excellent as was the food and the wine. However, the IFE software needs updating and the seats are starting to show signs of wear and tear.

PRICE A mid-week return in February booked through the website starts at £3,966.

CONTACT airnewzealand.co.uk

Andrew Gough