Air New Zealand Air Points - What's happening at AKL?

I arrived on NZ59 (two hours late) and the place was a total nightmare. There's no ATM air side (between getting off the plane and immigration) anymore. The separate immigration areas for Aus/NZ travellers is gone and the immigration line was more like LA on a bad day. At the bio security line, I explained I had some paper made in Fiji and asked if it was classified as a wood produce to be asked if it "had any seeds in it" (how the **** should I know)? Good grief, is NZ trying to turn AKL into LHR? What happened to the amazingly functional and practical airport I liked to much?

But don't you like the way the NZ authorities are thinking of you health with the excercise regimen you need to undertake to even arrive at immigration. :p

But don't you like the way the NZ authorities are thinking of you health with the excercise regimen you need to undertake to even arrive at immigration. :p

It's called darwinism .. if you don't make it due to a heart attack you were not qualified for the NZ lifestyle ...

There still is an Aussie/NZ line at immigration on arrival. From right to left - first lane is APEC/crew/"D", then families, then NZ & Australia, then other. If you cut through the duty free checkout counters the entrance for NZ & Australia is just slightly angled to the right of you.

But don't you like the way the NZ authorities are thinking of you health with the excercise regimen you need to undertake to even arrive at immigration. :p


It's called darwinism .. if you don't make it due to a heart attack you were not qualified for the NZ lifestyle ...

I didn't look good when I finally left the airport.

There still is an Aussie/NZ line at immigration on arrival. From right to left - first lane is APEC/crew/"D", then families, then NZ & Australia, then other. If you cut through the duty free checkout counters the entrance for NZ & Australia is just slightly angled to the right of you.

Yeah, that matches what I saw. I recall that the old system contained a nice little travelers secret though - the vast majority of the Aussies and Kiwis arriving would go to to a separate room while the area for all passports was often relatively quiet with just visitors from outside of the Aus/NZ region and savvy locals.

Now that's an advantage we've both lost!

Sadly the comparison with LHR is only too accurate...

Yeah, that matches what I saw. I recall that the old system contained a nice little travelers secret though - the vast majority of the Aussies and Kiwis arriving would go to to a separate room while the area for all passports was often relatively quiet with just visitors from outside of the Aus/NZ region and savvy locals.

Now that's an advantage we've both lost!

and when did that room exist? - I don't recall it - came back a through Akl a few weeks back and felt everything was perfectly fine and no queues of significance

It wasn't a room, it was an area just past Regency Duty Free and had a separate escalator to take you downstairs.

It wasn't a room, it was an area just past Regency Duty Free and had a separate escalator to take you downstairs.

... and the queues there were often longer than they were downstairs :rolleyes:

When they first opened it, there was a requirement that you had bought duty free before you could use it but that was subsequently dropped.

The new arrivals corridor is stupid yet great at the same time. Stupid because it involves winding your way around to the other side of the terminal before doubling back of yourself (incredibly bad design but what else is new) - but great because you can often speedwalk past everyone in front of you while they dawdle along. I managed to overtake the entire Business Premier cabin plus half the passengers off the flight ahead of us between gate 7 and passport control once :)

I have to say I don't like NZ Customs' practice of spitting people out to join the end of a three or four-deep line for a particular desk when you reach the front of the main queue. Why don't they just stick with the one-queuing system?

TSA: Comming Soon To Auckland

Please.... don't be so melodramatic. The government in Helengrad isn't going to let happen anytime soon? Are they? Besides, what is the NZ TSA going to do? Intimidate passengers because their souvenir organic writing paper might contain seeds? Clean someone's tramping boots with extreme prejudice (perhaps with a maroon buff)?

Seriously, the big attraction of NZ to rest of the world is that NZ has no natural enemies (accept the Fijians and the Australian Rugby team).

TSA: Comming Soon To Auckland

Please.... don't be so melodramatic. The government in Helengrad isn't going to let happen anytime soon? Are they? Besides, what is the NZ TSA going to do? Intimidate passengers because their souvenir organic writing paper might contain seeds? Clean someone's tramping boots with extreme prejudice (perhaps with a maroon buff)?

Seriously, the big attraction of NZ to rest of the world is that NZ has no natural enemies (accept the Fijians and the Australian Rugby team).

Come the 8th of Nov 2008 Helengard maybe replaced with Keygard

No but TSA NZ could be very very nice and civilised to NZ/Aus citizens while submitting US tourists to random searches and military style interrogations :p

The new arrivals corridor is stupid yet great at the same time. Stupid because it involves winding your way around to the other side of the terminal before doubling back of yourself (incredibly bad design but what else is new) - but great because you can often speedwalk past everyone in front of you while they dawdle along. I managed to overtake the entire Business Premier cabin plus half the passengers off the flight ahead of us between gate 7 and passport control once :)


^ +1 on this strategy.

I also quite like the walk after a long haul, though when the extra 2 minutes walk causes me to miss my domestic connection I reserve the right to change my mind.