Do Air New Zealand planes have USB-C charging ports for domestic and long-haul flights?

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NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#317645 2-Nov-2024 13:22

Just wondering if anyone has recent experience with Air New Zealand flights and their charging options. Specifically, I’m curious if they have USB-C charging ports onboard both domestic and long-haul flights.

I know some airlines have been updating their aircraft with USB-C, but info on AirNZ’s fleet seems a bit mixed. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s recently flown Air New Zealand and can share what’s actually available in Economy, Premium Economy, or Business.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Andib

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#3304334 2-Nov-2024 13:35

Domestic no as they don't have entertainment screens fitted (although on occasion you'll get an international jet do a domestic route).

Internationally, It depends on what plane you get. The last A321 neo I went on had it, But the ex Cathay 777s do not.

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SpartanVXL

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#3304336 2-Nov-2024 13:42

Best to have usb A adapter/cable on hand.

timmmay

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#3304347 2-Nov-2024 14:11

I've recently been on AirNZ to Singapore, then Singapore Air to London, and back. The AirNZ international had USB charging, but very low current - around 150ma. Didn't check domestic, too short to bother with.

However, international flights at least with Singapore Air have a universal power plug between each seat - so you can plug in an AU / UK / EU / maybe others plug in which can drive a USB power supply to charge the phone properly. We had a UK plug USB charger, worked fine on Singapore. I expect Air NZ international have the same plug. Not sure about domestic.

Scott3

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#3304374 2-Nov-2024 16:06

I can confirm (based on 6 turboprop and one jet domestic flight with air NZ this year), that the domestic flights do not have any form of charging at the seats.

As another person mentioned, sometimes the international fleet end up on domestic routes, and those planes have an In flight entertainment screen and the associated power socket. IFE was enabled the one time in my life I have experienced an an international Air NZ plane being on a domestic route.

I do a moderate about of travel. As a general rule:

No IFE = No charging of any type.
USB C on aircraft is rare. USB A is by far the dominate format.
As a general rule the USB A ports suck. Have had multiple instances where they are broken, and when they do work, they are typically 500 mA (10+ hour charge time for a modern smartphone, if phone is in use, battery level will decline.
Some long hall planes have AC power ports for laptop, which could be an option for phone charging.

From the Air NZ webpage:

In-seat power for computers

In-seat outlets providing 110V at 60Hz are available in:

Business Premier and Premium Economy on B777-300 and B787-9 aircraft
Economy on B777-300 and B787-9 aircraft

All outlets accept these plugs:

3-pin New Zealand or Australian
2-pin European
2-pin or 3-pin USA

British 3-pin plugs require a travel adaptor for all outlets except on our B777-300 aircraft. We only carry a limited supply of these, so it's a good idea to bring your own.

https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/electronic-equipment

Note only Boeing aircraft are mentioned, so it is a fair assumption that these do not feature on their Airbus & Turboprop fleet (which is all domestic, and some short to medium haul routes).

Only refence to USB-C on air NZ is by a Geekzone user but on another platform, so it seems at least some of the Air NZ A320 NEO / A321 NEO fleet (typically used on trans Tasman routes) have USB C ports with a fairly decent level of power.

The new USB-C ports on the neo output 5/9/12/15/20V PD up to a maximum of 27W so will fully charge a modern Android or iPhone at maximum speed which is around 15W - 18W depending on the device. Ironically despite the iPhone not having a USB-C connector, the only way to fast charge an current gen iPhone at maximum speed is to use a PD capable charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-new-zealand-air-points/1967640-power-outlets-economy-air-nz-b777-300-a.html

While I can see why people would want to avoid lugging around extra stuff, we generally just throw a USB PD 10,000 mAh powerbank in our bag if we are going traveling.

Dynamic

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#3304378 2-Nov-2024 16:43

My experience is similar to those above. The safe position IMHO is to assume you won't be able to charge during the flight and to carry a power bank.

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timmmay

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#3304400 2-Nov-2024 17:25

Scott3:

Note only Boeing aircraft are mentioned, so it is a fair assumption that these do not feature on their Airbus & Turboprop fleet (which is all domestic, and some short to medium haul routes).

Airbus A380 and A350 on international routes have power sockets, with Singapore Air at least.

Scott3

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#3304466 2-Nov-2024 19:35

timmmay:

Scott3:

Note only Boeing aircraft are mentioned, so it is a fair assumption that these do not feature on their Airbus & Turboprop fleet (which is all domestic, and some short to medium haul routes).

Airbus A380 and A350 on international routes have power sockets, with Singapore Air at least.

I was referring to Air NZ, who do not operate any Airbus Widebodies.

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openmedia

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#3304913 3-Nov-2024 15:43

Generally I assume there will be USB-A sockets and they pretty much won't work 30% of the time. The newer Air NZ planes with USB-C are currently the international A321neos and the power is generally reliable.

I've flown a lot in the last 2 years and other airlines have a similar failure rate with USB ports, so I always carry a power bank.

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PolicyGuy

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#3304938 3-Nov-2024 17:45

I traveled trans-Tasman last week on an Air NZ A320Neo, the IFE screen had a USB-A and a USB-C socket next to the headphones jack.
I didn't use either so I can't comment on their charging capacity