MrSydney
Aug 17, 05, 8:37 pm
Air New Zealand NZ103
AKL- SYD
Depart 9am
Arrive 10.30am
Business Premium
ZK –SUI
747 –400 (Refitted)
The day did not begin well. Stumbling out of bed at this distinctly unsavoury time of 5am, it was time for coffee. I turned the jug on, sparks flew and the room was plunged into total darkness. Panic stations – Luckily I had packed the day before but still…… Downstairs to see the Concierge who placed me in an adjacent room until the shuttle bus was due at 7am. Rang NZ to confirm it was the 74R.‘No’ said the voice at the other end ‘Its an Airbus’. I almost collapsed in a hysterical mess. ‘Oops’ she said’ I have been looking at the wrong month. Yup it’s the 74R’ and apologised profusely.
Caught the shuttle at 7am and was at AKL at 7.40. the check in queues at AKL was just horrendous with 744s leaving for Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane all within an hour of each other. Thankfully I was able to check in at the Premium Check In area which in itself was fairly busy. ‘Lucky you’ the check in person remarked ‘ Not only are you on the refitted 747 but also have the best seat in the house – 1K’.
After completing all the pre flight formalities, a quick visit to the lounge and it was time to board via gate 2. Good to see NZ still allows Business Class pax and special needs pax to board first. My initial reaction on boarding was wow! What a transformation. Judging by the comments of the other pax – they were as impressed as I was. The Flight Attendants were equally impressed
My first task was to check my seat out. The seat itself faces inwards so you do need to stretch your neck somewhat to see out the window but that wasn’t a problem, Still managed to take some take off and landing shots with no difficulty. 1K and 1A are the only seats where a couple could be in close proximity to each other. Personally I would not choose these seats if travelling solo. Fiddled around with seat recline buttons but did not bother with the lie flat mode.
The choice of the usual Champagne/OJ/Water was offered as a pre take off beverage service. Naturally I had two glasses of Champers to ‘get me in the mood’ Besides Mad_Atta would think my standards were declining by drinking OJ :td: - The seat has a dinky fold down drinks table. There is also a miniature bar area in this cabin which is initially used for newspapers and the beverage service. Prior to take off all movable items like glasses were placed in a storage area under the bar area.
The pax loads on this flight was very low with Business Premier about 50% with only approx 30% in Y. Mind you, the flight back was booked solid due with the All Black supporters plus Team returning in a blaze of glory.
Took off directly toward the west and noticed that only two a/c were at AKL which is something I have not seen in a long while.
Once we had levelled out I decided to check out the IFE. Now I must confess to being a techno cripple. Anything remotely technical leaves me dazed and confused. The female FA had fun trying to get it started but she had to dash of to commence the breakfast service
but promised she would return which she did. I finally got it working but no sound. Me and the FA were stumped – no sounds….mmmhh. Another more senior FA , Brett,came to the rescue and who was obviously the IFE troubleshooter. Stupid me had the headset plugged into the wrong power point. I mentioned to Brett I didn’t think the instruction brochure was all that clear and needed to be redesigned and in another language – say, Japanese. He agreed completely but as we both agreed, there are always teething problems when a new sophisticated product such as this is launched. He mentioned that a lot of older pax struggle with the IFE, especially in Y.
Breakfast commenced soon after take off and it was pleasing to see new linen and crockery. The linen is in a beige colour with the crockery all white – very contemporary looking and eye pleasing ^ .
Breakfast commenced with a fruit salad with quite miserable portions. I then had some toast and conserves – Lets face it you can’t do much wrong with toast besides burning it. For the main course I had the scrambled eggs with salmon wrapped in filo pastry with black pudding and potatoes. It was actually very tasty :) but again, the portions were not particularly generous. The coffee was your typical airline coffee _ I was more interested in the booze…oops wine. Alas I have been once again remiss in failing noting the types of wines served. However the Marlborough Sav Blanc was very tasty indeed - I think I ended up drinking the entire bottle, which is pretty normal for me.
The ottoman footrest is an excellent feature and was well used by all pax. The only criticism I have is that it converts into a visitor’s seat the reality is a slightly different. One of the FAs pretended to be a visitor and we both agreed the guest would have to be of a slim build – anyone else would struggle While the table has enough room to have a guest for dinner, we both agreed it would be become too uncomfortable for any length of time. I must say the pull out table is a great feature but not sure about the colouring as cream tends to show wear and tear fairly quickly.
After breakfast was cleared it was time for a tour of the a/c – one of the joys flying C class is you can pretty much wonder all over the aircraft. I did ask one of the FAs if I could have a look upstairs. She cleared it with her supervisor and she accompanied me upstairs and gave me an overview of PE. The legroom is very generous it must be said but am ambivalent about the mixture of classes on the upper deck. Personally I would not chose to fly upper deck for this reason though it is certainly quieter and more intimate than the hustle & bustle of the main deck. However I am sure there are others that disagree and prefer upper deck.
I would like now like to praise the crew of NZ103. They were an older team of FAs with I guess an average of 15 –20 years service. Their enthusiasm for the new product was particularly evident in the outstanding service they provided. From the lovely Japanese FA who gave me a guided tour of the upper deck, to the female FA who along with myself made valiant attempts figuring out the IFE and Ottoman guest seat. Then of course there was the excellent Lead FA - or was he the Purser, not quite sure. He was the trouble shooter for the IFE I had previously mentioned. We had a good yarn about the refitted a/c, the impending arrival of the 772ER ( he was going to flying the inaugural flight) and his secondment to Ansett prior to it going belly up. They were a fantastic group of FAs and did the company proud ^ ^ .
It will be interesting to compare Air New Zealand with Virgin Atlantic when I fly them BOM – LHR in November in J class. At this stage its scheduled to be an A3400 – 300. However VS are refitting 5 a/c with the UCS so it I will have to keep my fingers crossed. VS has a large and loyal following but there have been ripples recently about inconsistencies in service levels and a number of catering issues in J. We shall wait and see.
In conclusion, Air New Zealand has made a wise, albeit overdue, investment in the revamp of there long haul product. It will prove a sure fire winner with the both the travelling public and in particular, business travellers. Well done Air New Zealand.
AKL- SYD
Depart 9am
Arrive 10.30am
Business Premium
ZK –SUI
747 –400 (Refitted)
The day did not begin well. Stumbling out of bed at this distinctly unsavoury time of 5am, it was time for coffee. I turned the jug on, sparks flew and the room was plunged into total darkness. Panic stations – Luckily I had packed the day before but still…… Downstairs to see the Concierge who placed me in an adjacent room until the shuttle bus was due at 7am. Rang NZ to confirm it was the 74R.‘No’ said the voice at the other end ‘Its an Airbus’. I almost collapsed in a hysterical mess. ‘Oops’ she said’ I have been looking at the wrong month. Yup it’s the 74R’ and apologised profusely.
Caught the shuttle at 7am and was at AKL at 7.40. the check in queues at AKL was just horrendous with 744s leaving for Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane all within an hour of each other. Thankfully I was able to check in at the Premium Check In area which in itself was fairly busy. ‘Lucky you’ the check in person remarked ‘ Not only are you on the refitted 747 but also have the best seat in the house – 1K’.
After completing all the pre flight formalities, a quick visit to the lounge and it was time to board via gate 2. Good to see NZ still allows Business Class pax and special needs pax to board first. My initial reaction on boarding was wow! What a transformation. Judging by the comments of the other pax – they were as impressed as I was. The Flight Attendants were equally impressed
My first task was to check my seat out. The seat itself faces inwards so you do need to stretch your neck somewhat to see out the window but that wasn’t a problem, Still managed to take some take off and landing shots with no difficulty. 1K and 1A are the only seats where a couple could be in close proximity to each other. Personally I would not choose these seats if travelling solo. Fiddled around with seat recline buttons but did not bother with the lie flat mode.
The choice of the usual Champagne/OJ/Water was offered as a pre take off beverage service. Naturally I had two glasses of Champers to ‘get me in the mood’ Besides Mad_Atta would think my standards were declining by drinking OJ :td: - The seat has a dinky fold down drinks table. There is also a miniature bar area in this cabin which is initially used for newspapers and the beverage service. Prior to take off all movable items like glasses were placed in a storage area under the bar area.
The pax loads on this flight was very low with Business Premier about 50% with only approx 30% in Y. Mind you, the flight back was booked solid due with the All Black supporters plus Team returning in a blaze of glory.
Took off directly toward the west and noticed that only two a/c were at AKL which is something I have not seen in a long while.
Once we had levelled out I decided to check out the IFE. Now I must confess to being a techno cripple. Anything remotely technical leaves me dazed and confused. The female FA had fun trying to get it started but she had to dash of to commence the breakfast service
but promised she would return which she did. I finally got it working but no sound. Me and the FA were stumped – no sounds….mmmhh. Another more senior FA , Brett,came to the rescue and who was obviously the IFE troubleshooter. Stupid me had the headset plugged into the wrong power point. I mentioned to Brett I didn’t think the instruction brochure was all that clear and needed to be redesigned and in another language – say, Japanese. He agreed completely but as we both agreed, there are always teething problems when a new sophisticated product such as this is launched. He mentioned that a lot of older pax struggle with the IFE, especially in Y.
Breakfast commenced soon after take off and it was pleasing to see new linen and crockery. The linen is in a beige colour with the crockery all white – very contemporary looking and eye pleasing ^ .
Breakfast commenced with a fruit salad with quite miserable portions. I then had some toast and conserves – Lets face it you can’t do much wrong with toast besides burning it. For the main course I had the scrambled eggs with salmon wrapped in filo pastry with black pudding and potatoes. It was actually very tasty :) but again, the portions were not particularly generous. The coffee was your typical airline coffee _ I was more interested in the booze…oops wine. Alas I have been once again remiss in failing noting the types of wines served. However the Marlborough Sav Blanc was very tasty indeed - I think I ended up drinking the entire bottle, which is pretty normal for me.
The ottoman footrest is an excellent feature and was well used by all pax. The only criticism I have is that it converts into a visitor’s seat the reality is a slightly different. One of the FAs pretended to be a visitor and we both agreed the guest would have to be of a slim build – anyone else would struggle While the table has enough room to have a guest for dinner, we both agreed it would be become too uncomfortable for any length of time. I must say the pull out table is a great feature but not sure about the colouring as cream tends to show wear and tear fairly quickly.
After breakfast was cleared it was time for a tour of the a/c – one of the joys flying C class is you can pretty much wonder all over the aircraft. I did ask one of the FAs if I could have a look upstairs. She cleared it with her supervisor and she accompanied me upstairs and gave me an overview of PE. The legroom is very generous it must be said but am ambivalent about the mixture of classes on the upper deck. Personally I would not chose to fly upper deck for this reason though it is certainly quieter and more intimate than the hustle & bustle of the main deck. However I am sure there are others that disagree and prefer upper deck.
I would like now like to praise the crew of NZ103. They were an older team of FAs with I guess an average of 15 –20 years service. Their enthusiasm for the new product was particularly evident in the outstanding service they provided. From the lovely Japanese FA who gave me a guided tour of the upper deck, to the female FA who along with myself made valiant attempts figuring out the IFE and Ottoman guest seat. Then of course there was the excellent Lead FA - or was he the Purser, not quite sure. He was the trouble shooter for the IFE I had previously mentioned. We had a good yarn about the refitted a/c, the impending arrival of the 772ER ( he was going to flying the inaugural flight) and his secondment to Ansett prior to it going belly up. They were a fantastic group of FAs and did the company proud ^ ^ .
It will be interesting to compare Air New Zealand with Virgin Atlantic when I fly them BOM – LHR in November in J class. At this stage its scheduled to be an A3400 – 300. However VS are refitting 5 a/c with the UCS so it I will have to keep my fingers crossed. VS has a large and loyal following but there have been ripples recently about inconsistencies in service levels and a number of catering issues in J. We shall wait and see.
In conclusion, Air New Zealand has made a wise, albeit overdue, investment in the revamp of there long haul product. It will prove a sure fire winner with the both the travelling public and in particular, business travellers. Well done Air New Zealand.