Hi everyone....we're back.
I wanted to let you all know how the flights went. We took the 7:30p LAX-AKL Air NZ flt 3/24 and the B777-200 had at least 50-70 seats empty. When we checked in at the LAX counter I asked the agent what the chances were of us getting on and he said 105%.

The return on 3/31 was a different story. About a week out we checked with Air NZ. The numbers looked tough, but possible...about 28 seats with 3 non-rev on 7:15p return (B777) and about 38 seats with 8 (Air NZ) non-revs listed. The seats all went bye-bye when we went to fly.

When we checked in (about 5 hours early), we were told the first flight was overbooked and the second flight had 9 seats, of which 8 were already going to be filled by a dead-heading crew. Then the word came on the first flight....3 open seats with one standby in front of us....unfortunately, the flight got weight restricted because of massive cargo (frozen meat we were told). Only the one standby ahead of us got on.

But the Air NZ staff was amazingly friendly and helpful. We laughed off the first bump and proceeded to get ready for the second. After retagging our bags, the customer service agent smiled and immediately gave us boarding passes for the second flight (we were in shock)....she didn't want us to sweat it out for another 3 hours.

All in all, a great experience. The weather was perfect, food great, scenery amazing and flights smooth. Did I mention the US dollar is worth almost double in New Zealand....that allowed us to stay at a 5-star hotel (The Langham in Auckland) and enjoy dining out a lot.
Cheers....and thanks again to the Air NZ staff (especially Debbie in Auckland).