jacob_m

The next day the weather was absolutely awful in Wellington. I had planned to do a little bit of sightseeing in this very charming capital, but it was raining so heavily and the winds were so strong that it was actually hard to walk outdoors, and definitely not enjoyable.
In the afternoon I checked my e-mail and of course also Flyertalk, and in the Air NZ forum there was actually a post about the strong winds in Wellington, apparently there had been lots of flight cancellations in the morning.
I had not really thought of the winds as an issue, sure the weather was not the best possible for sightseeing, but I had not expected it to affect the air traffic as much as it did.

Pics
The view from my hotel room in Wellington, very windy and rainy weather

Back at the hotel I spoke to some guys who were supposed to take the ferry to the South Island in the morning, but all ferries had been cancelled due to the weather so they were back at the hotel trying to get a room for the next night as well.
With all this information in mind I thought it would be best to go to the airport early to increase my chances to get on an earlier plane in case there were any delays or cancellations, if not I could always spend some extra time in the lounge.
I collected my luggage and took a taxi to the airport. I asked the driver if he had heard anything about cancellations, any calls from the airport of people who had been stranded, but he was not aware of any problems and said the aircrafts should be able to take off even in this bad weather.
The airport in Wellington is very close to the city centre, so I arrived there within only a few minutes.

Problems and more problems at Wellington airport

A quick look inside the terminal and at the flight monitors and my first reaction was that it did not look very bad, my flight was neither cancelled nor expected to be delayed, at least according to the screen.
I went to one of the check-in desks to check-in, but I was told check-in was only open for one or two flights at a time due to the weather. My flight was not for another 1h 45 min at 6 pm.
I went to have something to eat and then took a seat in front of the flight monitors as most other people did, still no remarks about my flight.

About 20 minutes later they made a public announcement that check-in was suspended for all Air NZ departures that day except the next two departures to Auckland at 5 pm and 5.30 pm.
I went back to one of the check-in desks to enquire about my 6 pm flight, but the agent said she did not know anything. I then asked her if it would be possible to be put on standby for an earlier flight to Auckland, after all there were two flights departing. I very nicely tried to explain to her that I had a connection in Auckland and there were not a lot of alternative flights.
The agent was not helpful at all, she just said no and asked me to leave the airport and call the reservation line for rebooking to another day, I got a piece of paper with phone number on it. Well not too easy for me with no place to stay in Wellington and certainly no alternative flight to rebook to.

At this point I was starting to feel quite upset, I could well understand there was nothing they could do about the weather, but my flight had not even been cancelled yet, and still they tried to send me away from the airport. And so much for having a gold card and a business class ticket as well, but I just hate making this “don’t you know who I am”-speech.
I spoke to a nice woman who was also watching the monitors, she had also been asked to leave the airport by the staff, and just like me she was very upset and said there was no way she was leaving until they had at least cancelled her flight.

After 10-15 minutes I went back to check-in and spoke to a new agent at the baggage drop counter, a young girl who seemed quite friendly.
I asked her if she had any news about my 6 pm flight and if it was still absolutely impossible to be put on standby for an earlier flight to Auckland, two flights were confirmed to leave at this point.
“Of course you can go earlier” was her answer when she heard I had an international connection, and a minute later I was rebooked onto the 5.30 departure that was confirmed to leave. What a relief!
So apparently it was possible to be put on standby after all, and even get a confirmed seat, that’s not really what I was told earlier.
As she was working at the baggage drop counter she could not check me in so I had to go to another counter, and guess who was working there? Yes, the agent who had just sent me away.
She did not seem too happy to have me back, even less with a confirmed ticket on one of the two confirmed flights to Auckland.
Well as I had a confirmed ticket she had to check me in, and I was checked in all the way to Rarotonga (that’s where I’m off next), but no priority tags were put on my luggage and my onward boarding pass to Rarotonga said economy class (even though I was in C). I told her about that but everything I said just seemed to annoy her. Eventually she loosely attached two priority tags that probably fell off a minute later.
I got 08B on the plane, first time in years I was seated in a middle seat, but honestly I was just happy to be on the plane and leave Wellington, it’s only a short flight anyway.
I left the check-in area quite happy with my new boarding pass and happy never having to see that check-in agent again.

Pics
The nice departure hall at Wellington airport
Lots and lots of cancelled flights as you can see on the monitors
View of the apron

Air New Zealand domestic Koru Club, Wellington

I went to the domestic lounge on the first floor of the domestic pier, the reception was unattended and after half a minute wait with no sign of any staff I just walked in as everybody else did.
The lounge was packed, and the lounge staff were very busy at the service centre taking care of rebookings for passengers.
I had a seat and went to get something to eat and drink. The lounge was at least very nice with plenty and plenty to eat and drink, both the buffet and the drinks selection were most impressive.
They had free internet in the lounge as well which is always nice.
The monitors now displayed my flight was delayed, but at least there was a gate assigned to it, so it still looked like it would depart.

Pics
Inside the Air NZ domestic Koru Club in Wellington
The buffet area, lots to eat!
A very good selection of beer and wine!

Wellington-Auckland, flight NZ 464 operated by Air New Zealand
Departure: 17:30 (rebooked from NZ 460 18:00-19:00)
Arrival: 18:30
Aircraft: Boeing 737
Class: Economy Class (one-class only)
Seat: 08B

At 5.30 pm the monitor finally showed “go to gate” and I made my way to the gate which was in the international pier of the terminal.
They actually used an international gate for this domestic departure, so according to the signs we were supposed to proceed to passport control and so on, which obviously did not make sense.
Many people got very confused by this and for a while there was some minor chaos before an airport employee showed us the right way.

The gate area was packed and many people were still worried the flight would get cancelled, but as the gate agent said very promising: “at least we have the plane here, that’s always a good start”.
Boarding eventually started around 6 pm, 30 mins late, and we finally took off 40 mins later at 6.40 pm, more than one hour delayed. The take-off was surprisingly smooth, not bumpier than it usually is.
Before boarding I checked the monitors, and my original flight was actually operating, but severely delayed, so I may have missed my connection anyway with that flight.

On the plane the captain actually told us a bit about the weather and how it affected the air traffic. The main problem in Wellington was not that the aircrafts could not take-off and land, the problem was the lack of safe parking positions.
At the terminal the winds were so strong that the passenger bridges kept moving and hit the aircrafts, which could obviously be very dangerous.
Hence the major reason for all cancellations was the lack of parking positions.

I don’t remember much of the flight as I mostly wanted to get to Auckland as quickly as possible, but they probably served coffee, tea and water as they usually do on Air NZ domestic flights.
Many people onboard had domestic connections in Auckland and were worried about missing those, after all we departed over an hour late.
The crew promised to give more information later during the flight about connections, but the only information ever given was just after landing “please check the departure monitors in the terminal”. Very useful!
They really did not impress this time...

Pics
Onboard the packed B737 to Auckland

Auckland airport and a quick visit to the Air NZ lounge

We landed around 7.40 pm, and at this point I knew I would at least make my connection.
I exited the domestic terminal and walked to the international terminal instead of waiting for the transfer bus. I needed the fresh air anyway, and as I had been to Auckland before I knew where to go.
I went to the premium check-in room where I asked the agent to print me a new boarding card as the old one did not even indicate the right class of travel.
Since I had also spent less than 24 hours in New Zealand I did not have to pay the departure tax and after showing my boarding pass from Sydney I was given an exception sticker to put on the boarding pass.
Both passport control and security were very quick and I made my way to the lounge.
I actually managed to get off the plane, walk to the international terminal, pick up the exception sticker and make it through passport control and security to the lounge in only 15 minutes.

The woman at the lounge reception desk was very friendly and understanding but had not at all been told about the problems in Wellington, a bit surprising since there could well be many missed connections that evening.
The lounge was very empty this evening and I went straight away for something stronger to stress down after the very chaotic afternoon, now that I knew I would make the connection. I was very relieved!

Pics
Inside the international Air NZ lounge in Auckland

Auckland-Rarotonga, flight NZ 848 operated by Air New Zealand
Departure: 21:00
Arrival: 02:00
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Class: Business Class
Seat: 01F

I left the lounge half an hour before scheduled departure, but once at the gate it took a long time before boarding started.
The bad weather apparently also affected this flight in some way, so they had to load more fuel which took a lot of time and they even talked about offloading luggage (and possibly even passengers) as the aircraft might get too heavy to take-off because of the extra fuel.
Well they offered priority boarding as usual, so I was the first passenger onboard and don’t really know what happened later at the gate, but we departed almost 45 minutes late from Auckland.
Fortunately the flight time to Rarotonga was estimated to be just a little over three hours, so we would arrive there almost on time despite the delay.

The flight to Rarotonga was very nice, very friendly staff onboard (as always), but the service was a bit slow and the meal service took almost two hours, a bit too long for a three courses meal in business class.

This is the menu for the evening flight to Rarotonga:

Both the starter and the main course (I had the chicken) were very good, as was the ice cream (unfortunately no rhubarb tart left when it was my turn to order).
As I said the service onboard was very nice, but just a bit slow. I actually think the female flight attendant wanted to do everything very properly in business class, it was just done a bit too properly which is why it took so much time.
I also borrowed a DVD-player and watched two movies during the flight: Shadows of the sun and Lost in translation. The latter I had already seen, but it was interesting to see if I would recognise anything from Tokyo.
The flight to Rarotonga was very enjoyable, as most people onboard were holidaymakers (or Cook Islanders returning home) the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Pics
The Airbus A320 at the gate in Auckland
The business class cabin onboard the Airbus A320
Red wine and the personal DVD-player
Appetizer
Main course
Ice cream and cheese

Arrival in the wonderful Cook Islands!!

We actually managed to make it to Rarotonga very quickly and landed just 10 minutes late at 2.10 am (one hour time difference).
It was quite an experience to land in Rarotonga because it was completely dark outside. Usually you see at least some lights outside during the approach; some roads or cities or ferries or whatever, but here there was not a thing to be seen, it was pitch-dark! For a while it felt like we were almost going to make a water landing.
Rarotonga (the main island in the Cook Islands) is quite small so the first light I saw was just seconds before landing, there was a runway in front of us after all...
The landing was hard and bumpy and not at all smooth, there is actually a standard joke on the island that most flights depart and arrive during the night so the passengers won’t see how short the runway really is.

The aircraft taxied to the small terminal building, but it took a little while before the doors were opened so I ended up waiting in the galley.
There was a beautiful wedding cake there which had been stored in one of the closets during the flight, apparently someone onboard was going to the Cooks to get married.
The doors finally opened and I could feel the fresh tropical air entering the cabin.
Above the entrance to the terminal was a large sign saying “Welcome to the Cook Islands”, and inside the terminal building there was a man playing and singing Pacific songs in a corner, at 2 am! You certainly felt very welcome!
Apparently he is there for every single international arrival and departure, no matter at what time. Well there aren’t all that many departures out of Rarotonga, but it’s still a great initiative and it certainly creates a very nice and relaxing atmosphere at the airport. ^
I read somewhere he had been doing that for ten years or so, for every single international arrival or departure.

Everybody in the Cooks seemed really friendly, and the immigration officer was no exception.
Baggage delivery started quickly, and my first suitcase was among the first, but I still had to wait for my second suitcase, and I waited, and waited, and eventually the belt stopped, and still no suitcase.
This was actually the first time in my life I have had missing luggage, which after all isn’t too bad considering all flights I have taken.
I went to the man next to the baggage belt to file a report, he already had a message about another delayed bag they had found in Auckland, but nothing about mine.
He took my name, address, flight details, details about the bag etc (the usual stuff) and wrote everything down on a form. Since all my toiletries were in the missing suitcase I was also given an overnight kit and a t-shirt. The toilet bag was actually quite nice, black, with the Star Alliance logo on it, a nice souvenir!
Fortunately I later realised I had packed my bags exceptionally well and almost evenly divided my clothes between the two suitcases, so I could actually have managed a few days with only one bag.

Pics
Welcome to the Cook Islands!
The man playing and singing in the arrivals hall, at 2 am!
The arrivals hall at Rarotonga airport

And finally: The truth about the missing bag...

The negative thing about the missing bag unfolded just before I went to bed. I didn’t even notice it at the airport, but my suitcase actually had two baggage tags, one on the normal handle and one on the handle on the side.
Both tags were identical with RAR printed, but the tag on the side had the baggage number I had given at the airport when filing the report, the tag I thought was on the missing suitcase.
I don’t get it! I am completely sure she put a tag on both suitcases in Wellington, I even saw her doing it! No doubts!
Then howcome one suitcase ended up getting two tags, and the other one none? I just don't get it!
I do have a bad feeling about it though. Either the check-in agent in Wellington must have done something after I left as she was so negative to me anyway (I left before she had sent the bags away on the belt), or somebody among the baggage handlers did something (an easy way to leave luggage behind? both flights were probably very heavy).
OK, I know I’m very negative and pessimistic now (which I really don't want to be), but I just can’t think of a good and logical explanation. Any suggestions?

I can tell already now though that I did get my bag back, and it didn't take very long either (another fun and crazy story I will post next).
The bag was left behind in New Zealand, without a baggage tag, so obviously they didn’t know where to send it, makes perfectly good sense.
Fortunately it had a nametag with my name on it (a plastic frequent flyer one, so they were useful after all!), so it was very easy for the staff to match the bag with the filed report.