Air New Zealand review by Lucas 2017-02-13

Air NZ do not honor seat selection! I chose my Air NZ business class seat online two weeks prior to departure only for my choice to be abruptly changed at the last minute without notification, let alone consent (there had been no change of aircraft type). The cabin crew are nice, but can't mix a proper gin&tonic if their lives depended on it. Recommend more training, or let pax mix their own. Seating is the old style "herring bone" arrangement, with seats angled away from the windows. Elbow room between the partitions is narrow. There is insufficient space for the ritual post-takeoff/pre-meal drink and snack - just a tiny foldout shelf awkwardly located behind your right shoulder. There is a full-size pull-out table, but it is impossible to deploy the video screen while the table has anything on it. A 180-degree flat bed is available, but using it involves a disruptive maneuver requiring one to stand up and get help from the cabin crew to flip the whole seat back over (like in a station wagon or SUV). By the time that is accomplished, I'm wide awake again. Proper airlines have moved on from this dated setup.