Some questions on Air New Zealand's trans-Tasman flights

Trans-Tasman NZ Flights:

1. Where the NZ service is operated by Boeing 787-9 or Boeing 777-300ER or Boeing 777-200ER, will I be traveling on Premium Economy if I purchase 'Works Deluxe Saver/Flexi' tickets?

2. Where Boeing 777-200, 777-300ER or 787-9 is used, is Sky Couch available on Trans-Tasman service?

3. Is minimum of 2 people required to travel on Sky Couch? How can I book Sky Couch?

4. Which Tasman flights are using Boeing 777-200, 777-300ER or 787-9 at the moment? (I know NZ104 uses B777-300ER from time to time)

5. Does NZ have any non-ER 777-300s that is of old configuration?

Thank you.

CityRail: is there a particular reason you can't call Air new Zealand and ask them these questions, or least Q's 1-4?

CityRail,

I am actually glad you've asked these questions. I too am curious to know. Thank you for the questions.

1. If you purchase the Works Deluxe you will be on in premium economy if you are flying on a 777 or 789.

2. SkyCouch is avaliable on long haul international flights only same with twin seats (no trans-tasman).

3. I believe one passenger is the minium for SkyCouch, you can book it by selecting a flight on their website which says SkyCouch below the price.

4. NZ101/102 Boeing 767-300, NZ103/104 Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 787-9, NZ105/106 Boeing 767-300. Other SYD-AKL flights with NZ are A320's.

5. Air New Zealand only have 777-300ERs and 777-200ER's, all 77W's (-300ER's) have the 3-4-3 (economy) seating plane.

You don't want SkyCouch for SYD-AKL, you want a SpaceSeat. I don't think you can book a SkyCouch for that leg anyway. You can't, strictly speaking, book premium economy either.

I'm not sure whether Works Deluxe pax automatically get into the premium economy section. I know that *A and VA gold and higher do, though.

All the 773s are the same configuration (with the SpaceSeat in premium economy). 

If you are going to be seated in premium economy you definitely want a 773, not a 772. 

Hi City Rail, as an Air NZ FF I can answer all your questions.

1) Short answer, no. While a few PE seats are reserved for works deluxe (usually the last two rows of PE) the rest of the PE cabin is open (on a first come first serve basis) to Airpoints Gold, Elite and Koru members. Most of the works deluxe seating is in the first rows of economy, with the middle seats blocked. NB: While you may sit in PE, you will still receive the same service as in ecomomy.

2) No, the skycouch is not available for purchase on trans-tasman and pacific island flights.

3) The mimimum is one, however you will end up paying (a discounted rate) for the other adjacent two seats, thus making it a poor economic choice. Also the skycouch is not very long, so if you are after a fully flat bed, Business Premier is your best option. The skycouch is best suited to young families and couples.

4) The quickest way to find if a trans-tasman flight uses a widebody is if the flight number starts with a '1'. A320 flight numbers begin with a '7'. On the NZ website, just hover the mouse over the flight details and the aircraft type will be displayed. BEWARE: Air NZ regularly swaps out the 773, 772 and 789 for 767's and A320's if the flight load is low.

5) Air New Zealand does NOT have any non ER 777-300s. ALL Air New Zealand's 777's are ER. However, there are still some non-refurbished 777-200ER's that have the old 3-3-3 PE, not the newer 2-4-2 PE.

Hope this helps, if you need any further clarification let me know.

Thanks Koru17.

Another member has suggested should a plane with Skycouch is used, Velocity Gold and Platimum members would also be assigned to sit on Spaceseat if Works Deluxe is chosen. Is it true for the case?

Also if I am not a Premium member of Air NZ or Virgin Australia, where will I be sitting for Works Deluxe? Emergency Exit row?

By 'skycouch' I take it you are refering to the aircraft (773, 772 and 789) that offer PE..?

Yes, that is partly true. Premium NZ and VA customers (as long as they are booked on the works OR works deluxe) are both entitled to the PE seating at no additional cost. However, NZ members can seat select this in advance, while VA members are assigned at the airport. So there is a much less chance that a VA permium customer will be able to sit in the PE section as this fills up quickly.

Are you velocity Gold or Plat? If so, you will recieve priority check in, lounge access etc and could be assigned PE at airport even if you are booked on works only.

As I said earlier, the first rows of economy cabin is where the works deluxe passengers sit. The exact number of rows in not set in concrete, (ie the more passengers that have booked w.d. the more rows they take up). However, a small number of PE seats are reserved for works deluxe as well. So you could be in PE, or you could be in economy.

No, Air New Zealand does not sit w.d. in exit rows. Any economy passenger can pay to sit in an exit row or bulkhead seat.

ALSO, just a heads up for the Ausbt community, I had an email recently from Air NZ asking my opinion on whether NZ should continue selling Works deluxe and offering the PE cabin to elites; or selling a permium economy service (on par with long haul operations) and scrapping w.d. on australian and pacific island routes. So watch this space everyone!

Koru 17: I think I was referring to Spaceseat instead.

Interesting to see NZ might be looking into offering Premium Economy on Trans-Tasman services. I think that makes sense, since the flight is of reasonable length (3 hours or more) and also for many Premium passengers, Works Deluxe is a little redundant since we can all get lounge access and extra luggage allowance through our normal status. Selling it as Premium Economy should boast revenue for NZ whilst providing real value of service customers want.

Even through the questions have been kinda answered I will provide some more insight

1. Where the NZ service is operated by Boeing 787-9 or Boeing 777-300ER or Boeing 777-200ER, will I be traveling on Premium Economy if I purchase 'Works Deluxe Saver/Flexi' tickets?

There are some seats in the premium economy section which are allocated for the Works Deluxe fares but on some aircraft (The 777-200) you may be sitting in the economy section

2. Where Boeing 777-200, 777-300ER or 787-9 is used, is Sky Couch available on Trans-Tasman service?

On transtasman services the skycouch feature is locked so it can not be used (unless on flights to perth)

3. Is minimum of 2 people required to travel on Sky Couch? How can I book Sky Couch?

Again the sky couch is a set of 3 economy seats which fold up to make a flat area to lie down on - they only use this on long haul flights to the US, Asia, Perth and London when coming from Auckland

4. Which Tasman flights are using Boeing 777-200, 777-300ER or 787-9 at the moment? (I know NZ104 uses B777-300ER from time to time)

You will need to check the website for the date you are looking at 

Generally flights with a NZ 1XX flight number are operated by long haul aircraft and ones with a NZ 

You want to stay away from NZ700-800 flight numbers which are on A320 aircraft and also say away from NZ7000 flight numbers which are operated by Virgin Australia

5. Does NZ have any non-ER 777-300s that is of old configuration?

All of the 777-300ers and the 787-9's are in the same kind of layout with new economy, business and premium economy (a difference on the two aircraft)

The 777-200's are in the process of being updated (Some are in a new layout and some are in an old layout)