Cheap Air New Zealand flights

Once again, this purchase was through Chatdeal under the umbrella of Kayak. My tickets were purchased through Air New Zealand however this flight was partnered with United. So I was unable to get a boarding pass until I arrived in LA. I had to do some wandering around the LA terminals, which are not small, and had to speak with customer service to get my boarding pass, which still didn't even have a seat assignment or gate. Once the gate was decided, then changed, I sat around waiting for the gate customer service people to start working. They were there, but they were just chatting with each other for at least 30 minutes before opening the window. I finally got my seat assignment. So my score was mainly based upon ease (or lack thereof) of getting my ticket and just being allowed to get on my plane to my final destination. It seemed like a lot of unnecessary stress.