Air New Zealand

[BewareTheBear]

We flew back from our West Coast Trip on Saturday, which was amazing, we visited San Francisco (Alcatraz and Cable Cars), drove the PCH which was awesome. Visited Knotts Berry farm and then spent a few days up the mountain in Idyllwild which was out of this world. Anyway reason for my post if you are thinking of flying to the West Coast and picking airlines treat yourself to Air New Zealand Premium Economy. Honestly they blow Virgin, British Airways and the American Airlines out of the water! You get a huge screen with loads of entertainment etc, you can order snacks from your screen, loads of legroom, and the food...wow for Dinner they gave you tray with loads of food on, we all thought it was our dinner, then they come round with a bread basket with assorted rolls, we were all full now... then they come round with a dish with the hot choice. This was the same for the kids meals, sandwiches, crips, fruit etc and then they had a hot bowl of pasta. Meal before landing is another tray of food and assorted sandwiches offered from the Stewardess. This with mugs of hot drinks, and loads of snacks. When my daughter woke up in the middle of the night the Stewardess gave her some snacks and made her a mug of hot chocolate! Breakfast was fruit, yoghurt, orange juice, cereals...and a hot breakfast of Omelette and bacon , or Pancakes and Sausages. If you look at the latest awards these guys come up top for Premium Economy.
Only downside is there is only 1 flight a day which leaves at 16.15 from Heathrow though coming back it leaves at 17.30. Honestly it was a real treat flying with them, if you fancy spoiling yourselves give this Airline a try. Hope this helps with anyone planning a trip to the West Coast!

[landandword17]

Thanks for the report. I’ve seen some very reasonable fares from them so will consider them next time.

Idyllwild sounds amazing, did you rent a house there and which site did you book with please? Have a retirement trip with my dad pencilled in for 2021, focusing on outdoors/nature and it’s the type of place he’d love.

[Colusox]

Good to know, I'm flying with them on Thursday. It's hard to find reviews on them. I'm only flying economy but hopefully the experience will be the same.

[BewareTheBear]

Hi land, we booked through booking. Com and the place we stayed in was called eagles nest. It was amazing! Log cabin house with veranda and games room, 2 bedrooms in main house and guest cabin with 1 bed all included in price. We will be going back there, but for longer next time as we had been worried our girls (9&11) would be bored there, but they want to go there for the whole holiday next time and just have days out instead.

[BewareTheBear]

Idyllwild is amazing if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of LA etc. The locals up there are very friendly and can't do enough for you. We hired a log cabin via booking.com which used Vacasa. You can hire direct by them there is a local office in Idyllwild, we had a problem with a door but was fixed straight away via a 24 helpline. The cabin was immaculate and clean. We hired the 'Eagles Nest' which has washing machine etc. Have a look at the Vacasa website.
Idyllwild is lovely for hiking and getting close to nature! It also has a some nice restaurants, cinema shops and gift shops. Though do a big shop at Walmart etc before you drive up the mountain! It is also close to Palm Springs and the Dessert Hills Premium Outlets. It is a couple of hours drive to LA and San Diego.

[sunkisser]

We flew here with them on Wednesday. Economy and it was great. Best airline I’ve flown with! Even my fussy eater kids ate their food, and when one got the chicken and didn’t like it the steward just changed it for the beef. Lovely staff and comfortable seats. I ordered a Bloody Mary from the tv screen and it was brought to me within two minutes!

[mickeyspal]

Flying from Hong Kong to Auckland with them in November, only in economy tho may have a look to see how much to upgrade

[KayLouise]

Thanks for posting! I've never considered them before but pricing up flights they seem about the same as what I was looking at with BA but look much nicer!
Love the idea of ordering drinks from your screen haha do you know if extra drinks are free in economy or do you have to pay?

[BewareTheBear]

All food drinks, films etc are included in the price.

[Snowball18]

Me and someone else from here (won’t name her in case she’s embarrassed!) are flying with Air NZ next March. Never flown with them before so it’s good to see positive reviews about the airline and flight