Got some free time later this month? Air New Zealand just put a giant swath of seats on sale for travel between California and New Zealand. Round trip, the entire journey only costs $399 with tax, or just about $490 all in. That’s less expensive than half of the transcontinental US flights and than all of the flights to the EU this spring.
In short, it’s a fantastic deal, and combined with the strong dollar (against the NZ dollar) and Air New Zealand’s superior transpacific service, this is a once in a lifetime experience.
If you’re interested in booking tickets, check out Air New Zealand’s website for more details. Tickets need to be purchased by day’s end Friday, May 14, 2010 for travel between May 21 and May 30.
And if you’re looking for inspiration to make your journey, check out Gadling’s series In the Corner of the World where we road trip from the tip of the north island through the heart and soul of New Zealand in a two-week-long fiesta of adventure, excitement and wide angle photos.
Air New Zealand‘s marketing team is well underway promoting their new cabin configurations that we reported on earlier this year. The designs, which our very own Kent Wien covered in a series of on-the-ground dispatches, are set to vastly improve the business class and coach experiences, with redesigned business class cabins and lie-flat sections implemented in economy.
The highly dramatic version of the design process is summed up in the Youtube video below. We can’t wait to take the new configurations for a spin.
A Dutch tourist, along with two kiwi hiking partners, were rescued from Mount Ngauruhoe in New Zealand over the Easter weekend after they set out on a hike to the summit too late in the day and without the proper gear. The mountain, which stands 7516 feet in height, served as the basis for the fiery Mt. Doom in the Lord of the Rings films, and the three trekkers are described as avid fans of the blockbuster trilogy.
It seems that Violet Onderwater of the Netherlands met Ryan Hattle and Sam MacDonald on the popular travel site CouchSurfing.com and soon made plans to travel to New Zealand to meet her new friends in person. The trio made plans to make the Lord of the Rings inspired hike to the summit of Mt. Doom, the location of the climactic final scene of the films.
On Saturday, April 3rd, Onderwater and her companions made the road trip to Mount Ngauruhoe, arriving around 1 PM, and setting out for the top in bright sunshine. They reportedly reached the top of the active volcano around 5:30 PM, but on the descent, Onderwater turned her ankle, injuring it in the process. With their progress down the mountain slowed, and foul weather moving in, one of the kiwis used his cell phone to call for help, which resulted in no less than six search and rescue teams being sent out to find the hikers, who were now caught out in the cold rain and wind, with very light clothing on.
Fortunately, the SAR teams found the trekkers fairly quickly, and aside from a sprained ankle, no one was in any great danger. It seems that tax payers may have suffered the most damage, as early estimates put the cost of the rescue operation at a whopping $10,000.
Perhaps they should send the bill to Peter Jackson.
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Well, Premium Economy, at least. But we’ve sat in Business Class seats that weren’t this comfortable.
Apparently Air New Zealand has a larger proportion of leisure passengers than other international airlines, so they’ve focused more of their efforts on enhancing the Economy and Premium Economy cabins. We covered the upcoming changes to the Economy section, including the option for passengers to choose the new Skycouch layout when booking their trip, but the Premium Economy redesign may be an even bigger story. It’s surely going to cause other airlines to take a fresh look at their offerings.
Air New Zealand currently offers a Premium Economy cabin that offers a larger selection of meal options at a much higher quality, nearly approaching the level of service seen up front in their Business Premium cabin. It’s likely one reason they were awarded ATW’s Airline of the Year for 2010. But they don’t seem ready to give up the title for 2011. Space Seats
With their new Premium Economy “Space Seats” which enter service in November of 2010, the airline has managed to match their seats to the enhanced meal service. The combination could even rival the business class sections of other airlines.
Premium Economy passengers can reserve a seat based on their requirements for privacy or if they’re traveling with a partner, they can choose a more social arrangement. They do this by installing two different types of seats in the Premium Economy class.
Inner Space
The center seats face outward at a 23 degree angle and are called “Inner Space.” The two armrests in the middle of these seats can be lowered to create nearly enough room for a third person to sit, which could be helpful for a family flying with an infant.
With the armrests up, two people could share a meal or play a game of cards on the center console, with room for at least one person’s legs to fit underneath, like a small table.
Outer Space
The “Outer Seats” also point at a 23 degree angle and face the windows. With the new, larger 787 windows that are coming-depicted in the mockup pictures-these seats will be perfect for those who enjoy looking out. It felt a little like sitting on the front porch in a chair while taking in the view.
Another improvement over the current Premium Economy is the ability to recline without impeding anyone else’s space. And when the person sitting at the window is ready to get up, there’s enough room for the passenger at the aisle to pivot their legs to allow access. The seat width is now three inches wider at 20 inches, but there’s no obstruction, such as a fixed armrest on either side of the seats, so it feels even wider.
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“Otto” Pilot
Since there are now foot rests built into the seats, a stuffed foot rest that Air New Zealand has coined “Otto” which is short for ottoman will be provided. Ed Sims, the project manager on this effort remarked, “We readily anticipate that these will get stolen in huge numbers.”
Just like the rest of the cabin, Premium Economy will feature snacks on demand which allows a passenger to order complimentary drinks or snacks in between meals via the in flight entertainment screen.
The IFE screen is a pull-out, 10.6″ screen that provides more content than the current 8.4″ system, such as an expanded range of kids shows, exclusive offerings and a viewers recommended section. Applications such as hourly updated weather will be featured on the new graphical user interface that was designed by Air New Zealand.
A USB port or iPod connector will allow passengers to view their own content they may have brought with them. This will also be offered in the standard Economy class as well. No word on device compatibility, but the iPod and iPhone are sure to be on the list.
While looking at the innovative seats for each cabin, I couldn’t help but wonder where I’d prefer to sit. I suspect it will come down to who I’m flying with. If I were traveling with just my wife, the center, or “Inner Space” seats in premium economy would be preferable.
If we brought along our two kids, I’d love to try the two standard Economy center seats for us while the kids could take up the outer Skycouch seats for sleeping.
And if someone else is paying for the trip, well, there’s just no other option than to give the Business Premier cabin a try. Because if they consider these seats to be just a step up from their regular Economy seats, then wait until you see what they’ve done with their Business Class seat. We’ll have a review for you next week.
Gadling was briefed on the Space Seat prototype Tuesday at the Hangar 9 facility in Auckland, New Zealand. See it for yourself:
Have you ever slept better on an airplane than in your own bed? The only time that this has ever happened to me was on an Air New Zealand flight between LA and Auckland, comfortably tucked into the business class cabin on the upper deck of their 747.
This business cabin (lower deck pictured above), a ten seat Eden of comfort, good food and endless inflight entertainment is one of the only ways to cross the Pacific in style, complete with fully lie flat beds, delectable meals and wine and non stop pampering. Perhaps this is part of the reason that ANZ was named Airline of the Year by Air Transport World.
Incidentally, the movers and shakers at Air New Zealand are in the midst of a drastic redesign to their transpacific cabin configurations. It’s all strictly under wraps until next week (hint: Monday at 5) so check back then to hear the great news!
And don’t forget to get your daily dose of pampering right here.
