KEY POINTS:
Here is an earlier selection of Your Views:
Andy
As a kiwi I do want to support the national carrier, but I feel that they are not that much better than Jetstar.I think that the Air New Zealand service has become inferior in recent times. I travel both domestically & Trans-Tasman quiet regular with work. We have to fly cheapest fare of the day, which usually means Air New Zealand, which says it all, I would prefer a higher fare if it meant a better service. I think that the staff are great, but the inflight meal is to be honest a joke, it is usually a pie of some sort.I recently flew Qantas domestic in Australia where I was given a decent meal, why can't Air New Zealand do it Trans-Tasman? Also with the cheapest fare you do not get any airpoints, surely just continuing to support the airline whether it be full fare or smart saver should count for something!
Melanie (Auckland)
I fly regularly on Air NZ domestically and the service has got worse and worse. Rarely does a flight leave on time, and some are cancelled with no notice. I recently flew from Wellington to Auckland after two very busy days, and found my 7pm flight cancelled and was told I had been rebooked on the 8pm. This was then delayed and we took off at 8-25. No apology, no explanation, just another hour's fee in the car park for me! At least on Qantas, you still get a snack, which is great after a hard day at work and a dash to the airport.
Andybee
My issue is not whether pilots (or any staff) have their meal breaks (of course they should!). More to the point is Air NZs general lack of respect for their fare paying passengers. I recently had cause to fly from Nelson to Whangarei. The flight left Nelson(for Auckland)on time: however the onward flight was delayed one hour to allow passengers from another delayed flight to connect. Why should this be? My experience, overseas, is that scheduled flights leave on time - period. In this case, after the delay and subsequent boarding, the plane taxied - then was further delayed(on ground queuing) for a further 20 minutes, before flying to Whangarei, when, because of a heavy rain squall, the airport closed, and the flight returned to Auckland. We were eventually placed on a shuttle vehicle to Whangarei arriving some eight hours late, after a most uncomfortable trip. The upshot was that everyone booked on the delayed/cancelled flight was inconvenienced. My point is that if AirNZ insisted that schedules were sacrosanct, then meal breaks etc would not be compromised, and that only passengers on delayed flights would be inconvenienced - and not everybody - passengers and crews.
Marina
Air NZ's service has always been fantastic every time I've flown with them.To the person who said their seats are too close together - what do you expect on a plane??? Pay extra and go sit in business class!
Disgruntled Air NZ passenger
Over the years I have flown Air New Zealand on various international routes and have always considered that the service was inferior to other international carriers.
Cabin staff were often rude to the point of being discourteous, service was poor, the food often dried out, or your selection run out. I flew Air New Zealand at Easter return Auckland/Sydney simply because there was no other alternative on the days and times I needed. We were over an hour late in leaving and once onboard and pulling down my tray to receive my meal found that the tray was covered with food mess from the previous flight. It was cleaned for me with a bad grace. On my return flight we were over 3 hours late in leaving Sydney, with no explanation while we waited in the terminal as to why the long delay.I now refuse to fly Air New Zealzand on long-haul flights overseas preferring to use other airlines who stand by their word of service all the way. Thankfully there are several others to chose from, but the Trans-Tasman route is fairly well hogged by Air New Zealand and Qantas.
Kim H (Sydney)
What is the big deal? Pilots need to eat too. Overall I have found the standard of service on Air NZ flights to be acceptable. No airline stands out as being especially good or weak in any area. The only concern I have around staff eating habits would be the hostess' expanding waistlines. Make way! Make way! The trolley rolly-pollies are coming through!
Mike
I'm thrilled to live in a country where a story about people having something to eat ranks as a "top story" in one of the countries supposedly leading papers. Why do you offer a readers poll regarding service on Air NZ flights when the story has little to do with the service offered? Trying to turn something so ridiculous into something serious is just one example of why I don't pay to read your publication! If your staff and the likes of Phil (who has posted a comment) would prefer to be "dead on time", good luck to you. The lack of professionalism in reporting aviation stories if rife in this country - your paper is a leader in this field that's for sure. I'm sure the NZ Herald have ample opportunities for breaks throughout their day - just remember not all of us have such opportunities! Go find some real news and let the rest of us do our jobs!
Wontons
Some people should check the facts before they submit their views. Air New Zealand has withdrawn its proposal to add more seats to the back of the plane. Don't people read newspapers anymore?
CD (Auckland)
I flew Air NZ recently to Wellington, seats are ridiculously close together, and the service was not that great. Admittedly I think it's cool that the pilot was honest about the delay. You'd rather they got that right. But given a choice, I'd fly Qantas domestically over Air NZ any day.
Dave
Maybe Air New Zealand will soon be merging with the Kit Kat company.
Robyn
Thank goodness the pilots had the good sense to eat before flying, safety has to come first. I congratulate them also on their honesty and sense of humour.
Richard
I flew from Los Angeles to Auckland last night. The in-flight service was fantastic. The check-in was nightmarish. For two full flights from LAX->AKL there were 2 counters open for Economy and 3 for Business Class. Checking in took at least 2 hours and there were a lot of frustrated passengers. How hard/expensive would it be to hire an extra one or two desk staff?
David
The reason given by the airline is that pilots are required under our laws to have certain breaks, and that this was why there was the delay. This is for safety reasons. I am pleased that our national airline shows a strong commitment to safety standards to protect all who fly. In some third-world countries, such laws would have been ignored and the plane would have flown regardless just to keep passengers from getting disgruntled. Thankfully this isn't the case in NZ where safety is paramount. Good work Air NZ and I think you are a great airline.
Kane
Come on you Herald management! Please employ some real journalist who can find the real stories, not this nonsense.
Daren Waples
I think Air New Zealand are an excellent airline. The staff are courteous and friendly. I think their new uniforms look good. Also their airpoints scheme is one of the best I have come across. Plus the new cabin layout is a great improvement. I think the premium economy is great value, and will be using it again. Their 'Grab a Seat' is a fantastic idea.
Air New Zealand has come a long way in the past few years. I think they should be congratulated for making such vast improvements from the dismal days of the early 21st century.
Jeffson (Auckland)
My wife and I were on the flight concerned. Yes we were tired and a bit "put out" by the whole episode but if the law says the pilots have to take a break and be fed so be it. We both thought the pilot handled the situation very professionally. At least we were given the truthful story and not left sitting on the plane knowing nothing (which has happened to me in the past).
MJP
The exact same thing happened on my Wellington to Dunedin flight about 2 weeks ago. All had boarded the plane about 45 minutes late and the pilot started his announcement, apologising for the late boarding due to a backlog of flights during the day and then explained how he had also not eaten for 5 or 6 hours and that the airport catering had no more meals available for the pilots. He then advised he would have to duck into the terminal to buy something and would be back in 15 minutes. He said the airport in Dunedin was a little icy and thought it best he land the plane on a full stomach! As per your other story everyone was quite amused (and bemused) even though we were already 45 minutes late. A few one-liners were of course shared and about 5 minutes later someone turned up with a meal for the pilot so he didn't have to wait too long after all. I have also noticed that on most of my recent flights the inflight meals that you have to purchase have not been available. On a more sour note Air New Zealand have recently put additional rows of seats on their planes severely cramping the seating with little care for customer comfort. Obviously no domestic competition!
Martin
C'mon. Give us a break. Why not some real news. This reeks of slacking at the desk. Get out of your seats and wear out some leather and bring us something justified. Ye gods.
Mike
Nice of the pilots to front up and be honest. Generally the airline would say it was due to "technical difficulties" or an "engineering problem" that they pilots would go off and have a meal break. It happens all the time. I'm glad these guys got rid of the usual PR stunt and came up clean. Well done boys.
Brendan (Swanson)
That's pretty cool that they were honest about the whole thing and its not the pilots fault they need the break to be on top of things, think I'd try and avoid the plane food so who knows who would've taken their original meal.
KW (Auckland)
I totally agree with JP, obviously a slow news day that the Herald feels they need to publish a story like this and attempt to make so much more out of it than what it really is, but then again what's they do with most stories they publish. It's just another reason why the Herald is such a crap newspaper. Personally knowing how much concentration is needed to pilot a plane I'd prefer them to be nourished. Everyone arrived safely, it was slightly late so what's the big deal? The only reason it made the news is because Air NZ is one of the organisations that the Herald love to try and bash at any chance they get.
Paul Lattimore
You call this news? I'd rather you filled the space with more advertising than waste our time with this rubbish. Please save the tabloid stuff for your Sunday version.
Ronaldo Xavier
There's the New Zealand spirit I know and love!
Having a sense of humour about these kinds of things is the kiwi way. It wasn't a life or death situation, and I'm glad the passengers saw the lighter side of it too. Great stuff!
Harry L (Waitakere City)
It seems like a funny story, but there is actually a serious side to it. In my view the pilots were quite right to insist on a meal break before they left - and if I had been on the flight I would have been glad they did. Research consistently shows us that people, whatever their profession, make more mistakes when they are excessively hungry or have low blood sugar levels. Rather a half hour delay than a mistake with so many lives at risk.
Kate Gordon
It's not so much a service issue as a seating issue. I'm not sure if this affects all 737s now, but our recent flights Akld-Wgtn were extremely uncomfortable due to the now much-closer seat spacing. Anyone over 6'2" would not be able to fit their knees behind the seat in front and you wouldn't need a much plumper belly than mine to find it very difficult to get the table down properly. I'd rather pay a little more and actually be able to sit comfortably. I do feel sorry for anyone tall, plump or pregnant - they would find the new seat spacing ridiculously difficult to cope with.
Dennis (Paraparaumu)
Recently my partner and I were returning from a trip to the US on Air New Zealand. While boarding our plane from Auckland to Wellington we got into a conversation with another passenger who'd also just returned from the US on a different flight. He asked us how we liked Air New Zealand's service, and we both broke into laughter. It took us a moment to realize that he'd been asking seriously, and not joking.
I've taken about 40 flights in the last year, on 8 different airlines. Air New Zealand ranks very near the bottom. The biggest redeeming feature is the little lollies they offer at the end of every flight. I expect those to go in the next round of cost cutting (AKA profit enhancement).
JP
To be honest I just think this is your paper trying to make a story out of nothing. This is how the story begins: Passengers waiting to take off on an Air New Zealand flight were stunned after the pilots announced over the intercom they would be delayed - because they had to take a meal break.
The use of the word stunned is a bit over the top as the story goes on and says: One passenger told the Herald most people aboard joked about it rather than being annoyed.
I think this is sloppy journalism on your part. NZ do a fine job and yes there are problems from time to time like any airline. It must be a slow news day huh?
Disgruntled frequent flyer
I feel sorry for Air NZ staff, both in the air and on the ground. The staff can only work with the tools the company gives them, and those have been reduced so much that the staff are now bearing the brunt of passengers' discomfort and dissatisfaction.
If there was another Star Alliance carrier servicing the same routes, I'd vote with my feet.
Niel Bruce
I routinely travel Air NZ, and while the service is friendly it is poor. Increasingly Air NZ is like a budget carrier, with minimal snack food, no refreshments offered (transtasman, Pacific routes) until *after* the meal and indifferent attentiveness to needs. Seats are cramped, often don't recline, and food-stained magazines are left in the pockets. If possible I now fly other airlines.
Marcy
I think they do a good job that is well earned, despite their stress it can't be easy. Although I have to say the food is dodgy. But they look after you all the same. I wouldn't mind a pilot having a meal break. I am patient.
Tony
Fair enough, they get to take a break. Can you see factory workers not taking their entitled meal breaks? Pilots work long hours, and the next chance for a meal was probably some time off, so they deserve a decent feed at the correct time.
Russell
I'm glad the pilots stated why there was a delay. They could have said that technical problems would mean a later departure and there would not have been this newspaper story. Let's not whinge and whine about this.
Dave (Kaukapakapa)
My wife and I had some misfortune with our seating arrangements from the check-in staff on our honeymoon to Fiji recently. The Air NZ staff at the departure gate and on the aircraft were absolutely fantastic and went out of their way to get us two seats next to each other. Their service for the rest of the flight was excellent.
Phil
I was flying on the Air New Zealand service last week, and I found that everything ran smoothly. However, if the pilot on my flight acted the same way I would be writing letters of complaint. If they can't manage to peach a little lunch with chippies and a bananna like everyone else, that's their problem, especially as flying is so expensive.
BC
As for the Air NZ pilot needing a takeaway - fabulous. In the US I'd be surprised if you even saw your pilot, with everyone being so security conscious. Air New Zealand, well their domestic arm anyway, consistently amaze me with their good old fashioned sensible approach to travel. Here we have planes on which the pilot personally greats passengers and there is no foot thick security door keeping the crew safe (on some planes you can watch everything they do and gawp at the view as you land). I wonder if the pilot in the story brought the takeaway back to the plane and if he offered up a hot chip to the passengers - now that would have been something.