I have been looking more into a potential trip to Japan around September/October and have started looking around to see what I can expect flights to cost and to see just how feasible it is to come home via another country. Been using various websites like Webjet and Skyscanner to find the flights, and then I have been using SeatGuru to find out about the plane .. and based on my findings, I don't think I want to fly to Asia at the moment.
Auckland to Japan on Air New Zealand seems to be on a 787, which people say have narrow seats, hard sets and is very hot or cold depending on the side of the plane you sit on
Coming back to New Zealand via Singapore and/or Australia, all the choices I have so far found seem to be using old planes that have entertainment units under the seats (limiting the ability to stretch), old entertainment setups and narrow/hard seats. Only one flight (Singapore Airlines) seems to use a 777-200ER (or maybe a 300ER) and that gets good reviews, however it does not fly each day ... (note, I have avoided looking at cheaper options like Jetstar because I do not trust them)
Just wondering - anyone else do this type of research before heading overseas and are there other websites out there that may be better?