Air New Zealand Business Class, Up to 4 Seats
Recently, sites such as One Mile At A Time have been discussing Air New Zealand's new pattern of releasing business class award space close to departure. With that in mind, I thought I'd flag some space for up to 4 people.
Now, let's get into it!
|
|
Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAH/LAX/SFO-AKL
Operating airline: Air New Zealand
Class of service: Business class
Dates: August - September 2023
Seats available: 2 (Up to 4)
Cabin layout: 1-2-1
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan:
- LAX/SFO: 75,000 points
- IAH: 87,500 points
- *ANA Mileage Club: 120,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Asiana Club: 82,500 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles:
- LAX: 80,000 miles
- IAH: 85,500 miles
- *EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 97,500 miles
- *Lufthansa Miles & More: 71,000 miles
- *Singapore KrisFlyer: 130,000 miles
- *Turkish Miles&Smiles: 75,000 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 110,000 miles
- *Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 62,500 points
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- From US: ~$44
- From AKL: ~$46
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- ANA : Amex, Marriott
- Asiana: Marriott
- Avianca: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA Air: Citi, Capital One
- Singapore: Amex, Chase, Citi, Cap One, Marriott
- Turkish: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United : Bilt, Chase, Marriott
- Virgin: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
Current airline transfer bonuses
Let me know if you book!
|
|
Flight Experience
On the Boeing 777, AIr New Zealand's business class is arranged in a 1-2-1 herringbone layout. Each seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access.
Please note that this is herringbone NOT reverse herringbone. Each seat is angled toward the aisle rather than away from it so there isn't as much privacy. Some will find the seats a bit narrow, but the bedding is nice.
The other highlight is probably the catering. Given the quality of the headphones and small IFE screen, you might want to bring your own headphones and download some movies and shows on your phone/tablet.
|
|
Available Dates
IAH-AKL
August: 20, 21, 28
September: 2, 6
AKL-IAH
August: 11, 15, 23, 24, 27-31
September: 1, 5, 11, 12, 19, 21, 24-28
October: 4, 5
SFO-AKL
August: 19, 22, 26, 27, 29
September: 2-4
AKL-SFO
August: 27, 31
September: 4, 7, 14
LAX-AXL
August: 19, 26, 29, 30
September: 2, 3, 5, 7
AXL-LAX
August: 19, 23-26, 29
September: 2, 5
|
|
Best Ways To Book
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Best One-way Non-stop Rate
At 62,500 points, this is your best option for a one-way business class ticket if you're booking nonstop. However, you won't be able to include a United connection within the US so you'll have to position to IAH, LAX, or SFO.
You will have to call to book. You can transfer points from all bank programs.
ANA Mileage Club: Best Round-trip Rate
While you can only transfer Amex points to ANA, 120,000 miles is an excellent round-trip rate. Please keep in mind that transfers can take a few days to process.
Avianca LifeMiles: Great Amex Option with 15% Transfer Bonus
With Amex's 15% transfer bonus, it makes LifeMiles a better option than Aeroplan or Turkish if you need a connecting flights and a one-way ticket. For the non-stop to LAX or SFO, you'd only need to transfer 70,000 Amex points. For the non-stop to IAH, you'd need to transfer 75,000 points.
Please note that connections in economy can reduce the award rate by just a bit (see image below).
Reminder: You need to run your search on the LifeMiles site NOT Avianca's.
Turkish Miles&Smiles: Great One-way Option with a Connection
With Bilt, Capital One, and Citi points, Turkish is a great option at 75,000 miles one-way. While Virgin's nonstop rate is better, you can include United connections when booking with Turkish.
The downside is Turkish's online search often doesn't show partner space so probably have to call to book. On the plus side, they will hold space for you while you transfer points.
Aeroplan: Great Option with a Connection
Aeroplan is a solid option if you have Amex, Bilt, Capital One, or Chase points specifically if you're including a connection to LAX or SFO but not exceeding 7,500 total flight miles. Yes, I know, that's a bit granular.
If you exceed 7,500 flight miles, the rate will jump from 75,000 points to 87,500 points for a one-way award ticket.
Keep in mind that connections could increase the Aeroplan rate. You can use GCmap to calculate your total flight distance and double-check Aeroplan's zone-based chart. You can also include a stopover for 5,000 additional miles on a one-way award.
|
|
How To Book
If you're not sure what dates you want, you can use United to search:
- From United's homepage, select Advanced search
- Choose to show price in miles
- Enter the origin & destination
- Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month
- Select nonstop
- Select the number of passengers
- Select Business
- Show flights from "Star Alliance airlines"
- Run the search
- Transfer points (if necessary)
- Log into your account
- Run the search again
- Complete the booking
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'll be using to book. As always, I recommend confirming the program you're using sees the award space before you transfer points.
If you want to book with Turkish miles, call 800-874-8875 to put the ticket on hold before transferring points. They'll hold the award space for up to two days, though transfers shouldn't take that long.
To book with Virgin points, call 800-862-8621. You can hold award space for up to 2 days. However, transfers generally process instantly so you could do that once the agent has the ticket ready to book.
|
|
Final Thoughts
I know New Zealand (and Australia) are high on the list for many of you. If you're up for a trip in the next month and half, this is a great way to get a non-stop from the US to New Zealand.
If you can't find connecting space to Australia, check LATAM's fifth freedom between Auckland & Sydney. The business class cash fare is often quite good.
Happy Booking!
|
|
|
|
