Thumbs up for Air New Zealand

[liteswap]

Just a quick note to the Air New Zealand CC who were unfailingly pleasant and who made my three-day, there and back LHR/LAX business trip - same crew on each flight - as pleasant as cattle class ever can be.

Unlike brisk and efficient BA/Virgin, or surly and inattentive America/Delta/United CC, they were just the right side of friendly and made me feel like it really was a pleasure to fly with them.

After goodness knows how many miserable trans-Atlantic flights, this lit up my day and made it worth remarking.

[phineas]

I'd be interested if you could give a broad mark out of 10 for the 5/6 carriers to LAX, not just cc but the whole experience.

I usually fly BA and have only ever had one bad experience, check in at LAX.

[liteswap]

Well, I don't have the hundreds of flights under my belt that some denizens here do, but of the maybe around 100 flights I'd estimate I've taken from the UK to the west coast over the last 20 years or so, for pleasantness/lack of hassle I'd mark the carriers that I've flown with as follows:
Air New Zealand 9/10
Virgin 8/10
BA 7/10
United 5/10
American 5/10
Delta 4/10

[Seat 59A]

Great list

Cannot fault your list, Liteswap. ANZ - great airline. VS/BA, brisk and efficient, but VS Upper Class has the edge on BA. The US carriers, well ... least said the better. I'm a million miler with AA, so I guess I have just become numbed to the predictability (and the warm nuts) over the years and don't mind it too much.

[Flapping_Madly]

"Warm nuts" Strewth!!

Seriously ANZ CC are definitely a cut above in my limited experience.
And the LHR CC are the best of the best.