Air New Zealand Air Points - OT: AKL wins Skytrax for Best Aust/Pac Airport

Well they are no longer in the top 10 for the world but even with the renovations I still am mystified by how it wins the top spot.
Then again I think the arrivals exeperience is the best.
Auckland tops Sydney, Melbourne as Asia-Pacific's best airport
Auckland has beaten Sydney and Melbourne as the best airport in the Asia-Pacific in the 2012 Skytrax World Airport Awards.

It’s the fourth year in a row that New Zealand’s biggest airport has bested its Australian cousins.

Best Airport in Australia / Pacific
1.Auckland International Airport
2.Sydney Airport
3.Brisbane Airport
4.Melbourne Airport
5.Gold Coast Airport

Full report on the 2012 Skytrax award on http://www.ausbt.com.au (http://www.ausbt.com.au/auckland-tops-sydney-melbourne-as-asia-pacific-s-best-airport)

What Australian airports would you suggest are better?

From the amount of advertising I've seen to get people to vote for them, they obviously put a lot of effort and money into getting people to vote for the award.

What Australian airports would you suggest are better?

SYD and MEL comes to mind. as a non AUS/NZ passport holder, i highly value "express pass" when arrive and depart from those airports.

What Australian airports would you suggest are better?
TBH, SYD. Apart from the much worse arrivals experience, I have always thought that SYD is a much better airport landside and airside bot International and Domestic terminals. This is especially true if you are a non-status passenger as the food/beverage and shopping options are much better in SYD, not to mention resting areas than AKL.

TBH, SYD. Apart from the much worse arrivals experience, I have always thought that SYD is a much better airport landside and airside bot International and Domestic terminals. This is especially true if you are a non-status passenger as the food/beverage and shopping options are much better in SYD, not to mention resting areas than AKL.

Maybe we are looking for different things but I certainly don't appreciated having to walk through a shopping mall at SYD to get to the gate. At least AKL is a quick and easy walk PAST the shops rather than through them. As for food options I will agree with you that SYD is much better.

3.Brisbane Airport



How on earth does this lame excuse for an airport figure in the top 100, let alone at #3????

I've had better experiences at remote Russian airports; where you get transferred from the plane in a communist era bus/truck hybrid and stand around in the queue outside in the snow, as the immigration hall is too small to support the full length of the line. Then the Russian immigration officials announce: "All Russians to the front of the line" as they're sick of processing foreigners.

Auckland is great, from Gate to outside the terminal in 15 minutes. Departure is also fast and simple.

Maybe we are looking for different things but I certainly don't appreciated having to walk through a shopping mall at SYD to get to the gate. At least AKL is a quick and easy walk PAST the shops rather than through them. As for food options I will agree with you that SYD is much better.
Yes a bit frustrating as it takes sometime away from the lounge, however it is not as bad as it used to be. As I use the Qantas First Lounge for preboarding dining it has been years since I looked for a meal at SYD but the restaurants there do look appealing.
How on earth does this lame excuse for an airport figure in the top 100, let alone at #3????

It is 3 for Australia/Pacific not the world. I do agree that BNE International even after their renonvations still leaves a lot to be desired.
Auckland is great, from Gate to outside the terminal in 15 minutes. Departure is also fast and simple.

AKL arrivals in the last few years has been the best international arrivals for me in this region, it is still less than acceptable for airside departures.

It is 3 for Australia/Pacific not the world. I do agree that BNE International even after their renonvations still leaves a lot to be desired.

I know it is #3 for APAC, but even a little tinpot airstrip, like Oodnadatta, in the middle of the desert is better than Brisbane.

You can stand at the carousel for 40minutes waiting for your luggage, even though yours is the only plane within a bulls roar of the airport, simply because it is smoko time and the unionists must stop then, regardless of whether there is work to do or not.

Full report on the 2012 Skytrax award on http://www.ausbt.com.au (http://www.ausbt.com.au/auckland-tops-sydney-melbourne-as-asia-pacific-s-best-airport)

Not sure how credible is Skytrax amongst frequent travellers.

I see it gave LHR T5 an award ... unfortunately it's badly timed considering the awful immigration delays currently being experienced at LHR's newest terminal !


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9231246/Heathrow-Airport-descends-into-fresh-immigration-chaos.html

Auckland is great, from Gate to outside the terminal in 15 minutes. Departure is also fast and simple.That long?

I presume gate 15/16 not 8-10. Still many times I have been airside off QF133 or NZ726 within 10 minutes.

I arrived into MEL on NZ123 yesterday - off aircraft 10:22am, no checked luggage and with smartgate caught the 10:30am Skybus to the city.

I really don't pay SkyTrax much attention.

That long?

I presume gate 15/16 not 8-10. Still many times I have been airside off QF133 or NZ726.

I arrived into MEL on NZ123 yesterday - off aircraft 10:22am, no checked luggeage and with smartgate caught the 10:30am Skybus to the city.

I really don't pay SkyTrax much attention.
With checked luggage it is very different.
I have been out of AKL, after their process changes, in 13 minutes of doors open.
I have been out of SYD, in the morning peak in 10 minutes:eek:, even with one checked bag! (This is a once off normally it is 20 minutes in peak).
I have been out of MEL, in a quiet period in 28 minutes and 43 minutes in a peak period. Let us not even discuss how long it takes to wait to get a taxi or even the bus into the CBD.
BNE in a peak period was nearly an hour and I have not flown internationally into there since.

I've done plane to carpark in 6 minutes at AKL (no checked luggage obviously).

Yes, I did 6 minutes too yesterday morning off QF26. When there's no other airlines disgorging passengers, fast walking, Smartgate, no checked bags, first to customs and no mucking around at any stage, 6 minutes is easily doable.

Yesterday was a good day. 10 minutes off NZ288. Fast walk, Duty free, Smart Gate, Checked bag already on the belt, and straight through MAF.

I fly through both AKL and MEL regularly, and AKL is a damn sight better than MEL. Arrival yesterday with a checked bag when we were the only plane landing at that time and I waited 15 minutes for the carousel to even start turning. Arrival into AKL at the same time as several other flights on ANZAC day, and even disembarking from J and clearing through smartgate I had to chase my bag down before it went back through the curtain. The longest part of the experience was sorting out my rental car. MEL also looks tired and horrible in arrivals these days, though departures are not too bad. AKL looks decent in both directions.

I've done plane to carpark in 6 minutes at AKL (no checked luggage obviously).

Yeap, in and out of AKL every week. I think I can even manage better than 6 minutes at times, although not if they park the plane at gate 15!

I understand that pax volume affects ratings ie a brilliant small airport with low pax volumes will be scored lower than a more so-so airport with very high pax volumes.

Just my sense from some comments posted at the end of the yahoo news article I read this morning.