Kiwi Flyer

Index to my trip reports

If you like this report, you may be interested in some of my other trip reports.

1. AKL-YYZ with NZ/AC in F & C - my first trip report
   
2. Europe to Iceland & return on Icelandair (FI) - somewhere different
   
3. Some FTers DO the Inaugural Worlds Longest Flight SIN-EWR vv 28 June 2004 - 2 long flights back to back
   
4. 7 Crazy Days - includes an almost inaugural flight
   
5. Champagne and figure eights on ice - Antarctica flightseeing
   
6. a Lit.tle sPRinG.Ly JoUrney (BUDding KiwiS Can zig-ZAG around Europe) - mostly central and eastern Europe
   
7. Big DO DOs - or a Kiwi Flyer's Month of Madness - lots of flights
   
8. Another Manic Month for Kiwi - again lots of flights
   
9. Mini Tour of NZ - over 100 domestic flights in New Zealand covering all domestic routes (ongoing)
   
10. Across the Globe in 5 Continents - criss-crossing the globe
    
11. Auckland to National Park by Train - train in New Zealand's North Island
    
12. Across the Globe in 5 Continents Again - criss-crossing the globe, but this time mainly on One World
    
13. A Warm Embrace of the Tropics - short trips to the tropical South Pacific
    
14. Singapore (SQ) new first and business class, plus a medley of 12 F & C SQ flights - name says it all really
    
15. Across the Globe in 4 Continents - around the world on star alliance, including some unusual flights
    
16. Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Sampler - a sampling of Qantas flights, domestic and international, in economy and business (ongoing)
    
17. Around the World in Under 60 Hours - around the world in a weekend
    
18. The Heat is On - another longhaul economy trip in under 60 hours - what a contrast, Asia and Qantas' new first class lounges
    
19. Fast on the ground and in the air - it must be Shanghai – a flying visit to Shanghai + Maglev
    
20. It's a Fine Line Between Pleasure & Pain: 4 wacky weeks 2 RTW C, inaugural longhaul Y – mostly One World
    
21. Back and forth across the Pacific on a variety of airlines in a selection of classes - 16 crossings of the Pacific plus some other related flights
    
22. It isn't every day that you witness a hijacking attempt + NZ's forgotten 4th island - a visit to Chatham Islands coincides with New Zealand's first hijacking attempt
    
23. There and back - first day Air NZ flies to Coolangatta (Gold Coast)
    
24. A Run Around (part of) The Axis of Evil: A Perfect *A RTW in C? - Axis of Evil 0 US Immigration 1
    
25. Wellington to Auckland by train - self-explanatory title
    
26. A mad couple of days flying, including domestic international flights - a double longhaul inaugural, domestic international shuttle and domestic leg of an international flight
    
27. Regional C *A RTW & (hopefully) finishing flying every route (100+) for an airline - featuring new QF First on A380 special flight, "you have to get off now", and 105th different current route with NZ
    
28. One World Revolutions - Around Mostly the Southern Hemisphere - mostly Southern Hemisphere and mostly on One World on a mix of products
    
29. Cris-cros the Med & the Globe on Emirates, Qantas & Star Alliance in mix of F/C/Y+/Y – starting with EK First on A380 and ending with Qantas economy, with a lot of travel mostly on *A in between
    
30. An FTer flies to a Do (or Why take the nonstop when you can fly 10 flights instead?) - combining an FT Do with an aerial tour of northern Queensland
    
31. The Ultimate Qantas Flight - short report on the ultimate flight
    
32. Premium Flying Across the Ditch (Between New Zealand and Australia) - experiencing the forward cabins on Trans-Tasman flights (ongoing)
    
33. 5 Boeings Straight to the Airbus Do - FTer feasts in first, business & economy - my journey to & from the *A / Airbus Mega Do
    
34. NZ route oddities & One World turns by night (redeye special) - an odd collection of flight routes & schedules around the world
    
35. From my first low cost redeye to a first class trifecta - an insane fortnight - some firsts of all types
    
36. G'day, kia orana - it's another inaugural flight in Air New Zealand business class - a day & night tripping around the South Pacific on Air NZ
    
37. A Feast of First Class Flying on British Airways, Qantas and Emirates - long distance in style
    
38. A Weekend of Old and New - Lufthansa first & business, Air New Zealand business - a quick longhaul trip featuring some old and new products
    
39. Star Alliance tres primo, and tres biz - a trio of first and business on Star Alliance
    
40. A few flights to end 2011 - a quick trip around the world + more
    
41. Five Continents in 3 Days and Some Other Mad Trips in 2012 - a selection of my 2012 travels
    
42. Sky Team madness - 14 weeks, 200k miles, 5 continents, CI brand new business – mostly Sky Team
    
43. Off to Star megado on Oneworld - mostly business incl brand new AA 787
    
44. A Glutton for Punishment: red eye, new world's longest flight & more, in comfort?
    

Kiwi Flyer

On request, here is another trip report, probably my last for a while (to the relief of some no doubt).


Index to this trip report

1. Intro
   
2. First into the Freezer
   
3. Then into the Fire
   
4. A quick trip to Shanghai by Maglev and taxi
   
5. Shanghai to Auckland menus (business class)
   

==============

Intro

Since the route was launched last year I've been thinking about how I could fly Air NZ to and/or from Shanghai Pudong (PVG). For this is the last remaining destination currently served by Air NZ that I have not flown to, and one of the last few remaining Air NZ routes I have yet to fly. I also wanted to visit Shanghai and explore, although I'm sure I'll need another visit.

Earlier in the year I almost made it to Shanghai on an around the world trip, only to drop the flight when I had to rearrange the routing.

So, I was pleased when, a few months ago, Air NZ experimented with longhaul flights on their daily grabaseat sale and chose Shanghai as the second destination (of just 2 so far). Even better the available dates fitted nicely into my packed schedule. That the fare earns no miles is made up for by being dirt cheap - I've had some one-way one hour domestic flights that cost more than this return trip, including all taxes. It took me all of a minute to find dates I wanted and book it. Next I tried an online upgrade request. For some reason it didn't work, but this was soon fixed by phoning. The upgrade vouchers cleared instantly - one way economy and the other business, yay. I considered upgrading both ways to premium economy, but as loads were reportedly light (makes sense - hence the sale) I should have some room to stretch out even in economy, and personally I don't like the premium economy on the 777 (for the seat is still as narrow as economy in 3-3-3 layout). Refer lots of discussion on the Air NZ forum.

The flights booked all I had to do was wait, oh and a lot of travel in between. My first real headache was to organise a visa. Since I was returning to country of origin and not a third country, I could not make use of the transit exception (those from certain countries can transit Shanghai for up to 48? hours without a visa as long as heading to a third country). With extensive travel their really was only one available timeslot to get the visa in between other international travel, that was long enough for visa processing (allow up to a week) and within the 3 month window (maximum time in advance of travel). Fortunately this time I did not leave it too late and easily obtained the visa in that timeslot. This is a minor milestone for it takes up the last remaining empty page. I will need to get a new passport soon, but as they are only good for 5 years (less 6 month validity required by some countries) with no possibility to add pages, I am holding out as long as I can. I reckon there are still some spots where stamps could be squeezed in.

Kiwi Flyer

First into the Freezer

Since I was heading to the airport anyway, and had plenty of time free, and a good sale fare came up, I decided to first take some Qantas domestic (in NZ) flights before heading to the international terminal bound for Shanghai.

First up Wellington. For a nice change we got a 737 that has the old business seats, which thanks to my status I got one (still economy service). Normally this particular flight gets the 737 with all economy seating. The flight itself was uneventful.

A short turnaround in Wellington, but as usual I head to the lounge for a quick breakfast (generally better than in the Auckland lounge and much better than the miniscule snack served onboard). Boarding announced slightly early, for today we are using a gate on the NZ pier - further from the lounge. Arrive at the gate to find boarding has not yet started, and it doesn't for another 10 minutes or so. The late departure is offset by getting ZK-JTR for the first time on a domestic flight. This is a recent addition to Jetconnect fleet and has an expanded section of old business seats. Normally the aircraft operates trans-tasman flights. The flight is not very full and surprisingly, only have the business seats have been allocated!

Back in Auckland I check in for Queenstown in the lounge. The forecast has been dreadful for several days with snow, variously forecast to be heavy light or showers. This made it harder to pack, and left me with some trepidation. While I had allowed a decent connection on return, if we made it down to Queenstown but then got stuck down there I would have no way to make it back in time. I kept an eye on flights and noted today's earlier flights in and out of Queenstown made it only slightly late. The online weather radar is no help as the mountainous terrain blocks out much of the signal, but at least the weather observations for nearby Alexandra indicated only light snow/rain falls.

The flight was slightly late but nothing serious. I got the same aircraft as I'd earlier flown down to Wellington (it had returned while I waited in the lounge in Auckland), so more good seating (well as good as it gets domestically). Headwinds slowed our progress, but at least the return should be fast. There were fantastic views, as normal on this route, along the entire South Island (and stretching coast to coast). The recent snow falls reflecting brilliantly the sunlight and highlighting shadows caused by the rugged terrain far more clearly than bare ground ever does.

As we cross the main divide the captain updates us on weather conditions, alarmingly mentioning snow is due in Queenstown soon - oh too late now to worry. I seem to get this particular captain quite often. He always stands out, both for his "famous" name, and also his style - he is very chatty and enthusiastically points out routing details and sights to be seen.

We deplane by stairs (except for an elderly couple assisted down by the forklift) into the frigid air. In unsuitable clothing I race into the terminal as fast as I can. The turnaround is longer than normal due to the assisted couple, but not too bad. Another dash across the tarmac, trying to time the queue on the stairs and back to comfy seat. We make up lost time en route with a very fast flight time.

On arrival back in Auckland I politely ask (and invited with pleasure) to use the lounge to await my ownward flight. I'm not sure when exactly the check in for the next flight opens and I'd rather spend the time in an empty lounge here than pacing waiting for check in to open.

Kiwi Flyer

Then into the Fire

Eventually it is time to leave and I walk across to the international terminal and check in at the premium check in area. I ask about loads and on hearing economy has "about 18 empty seats" politely request, and am given, an empty middle seat. As always this comes with the reminder there is no guarantee. They are unable to issue the return boarding pass so I resign myself to needing to return to the airport early enough to check in.

Quickly through immigration and up to security. There is a new "random" wanding of selected passengers on the other side of the WTMD (but oddly the carry on is not checked). Supposedly for liquid detection(!) - sounds like a load of baloney to me. Then up to the lounge, with a small detour to check out this week's duty free specials. The lounge is packed - an expansion is sorely needed with the increased numbers of elites and higher loads these days.

I grabbed one of the last remaining chairs and settled in to watch the All Blacks take on France B team in a rugby test (for the best players remained in France to play club rugby ). Predictably the ABs walloped France. The lead cabin crew member on the flight to London via Los Angeles did herself no favours with the usual announcement that she was in the lounge for the next little bit if anyone wants to meet her / have questions answered or problems sorted out, because it was in the middle of the action.

Afterwards I went into the conservatory to grab a late dinner accompanied with a few choice drinks. And of course, as frequent readers of my trip reports will know, a shower to refresh.

Eventually it was time to board. Woohoo the middle seat is indeed one of only a handful that are empty - thanks ^ In the row in front the passenger in the aisle decides to be clever and not get out of his seat to let the other 2 row-mates in. Instead he climbs up the seat back, but on the headrest, and the seat bends back alarmingly. He was pretty much on top of me, so not only did I have to hold him up but I also feared the seat might snap. Thankfully it did not. In many hundreds of flights this is the first time I've encountered anyone older than a very young child doing this.

We have a Shanghai based crew. This is the first time I've had more than the odd one or two on my flight. I'd heard reports of poor service and was interested to see for myself how it compares - hoping the reports were wrong of course. See for yourself in the rest of this report.

We take off on time, but not before the passenger in front of me reclined (as we entered the runway). Oh boy. Even worse no crew member noticed or said anything about it. Later they forced him to sit upright during meal service but he pushed back hard as soon as

I try to get to sleep quickly since I have already eaten. Before anyone complains, I did not recline my seat as I try to be thoughtful and can sleep in any position if tired enough. However it wasn't to be, as I get woken for meal and 2 subsequent rounds through with drinks. Dinner is a choice of beef with noodles or fish with rice.

Later I was reminded by a crew member of the recline button. As if I need any reminding of where it is!

I manage only a fitful sleep. When I later give up trying, I notice I was missed when they handed out arrival cards and so I ask for one.

With the seatbelt sign on due to minor (very minor) turbulence I push the call button instead of walking up to the galley for a drink. NZ has for a few years now provided only cups for water in economy - to save weight. Business class passengers can get water bottles (and usually status pax in economy upon request but not for this flight). I can't recall for premium economy - I'd guess water bottle also now that food and drink is as for business class. Anyway, I digress. After more than 30 minutes patiently waiting, and by now very thirsty since I only had a little drink at dinner service, I gave up and walked to the galley to get a cup. Not good at all. Looking around the cabin I saw other passengers also had call light lit and also being ignored It wasn't as if the crew were busy at this time of the flight.

A couple of hours before arrival it was time for breakfast. A choice of that old standby omelette, sausage and tomato; or noodles. I could have sworn they announced noodles and pork but it was actually noodles and shrimp.

Meals collected and then headsets, but not the accumulated rubbish (why?).

Our flight path took us almost overhead Jeju before turning into Shanghai. As usual (and annoyingly) the IFE is switched off at top of descent. Unlike some recent flights there was no flight path displayed once passengers lost control of the system, and thus no satellite map for landing.

Our taxi is relatively short but we get a gate some distance from immigration.

Kiwi Flyer

A quick trip to Shanghai by Maglev and taxi

Earlier I'd asked on FT if there were showers around without getting a clear answer. I thought maybe the little known transit hotel might have them. However, as I spied it in the arrivals area before immigration I did not check for myself.

While there was a transit desk before immigration it seemed to be only for certain specific flights (and certainly not for any foreign airlines). It seems I will need to check in landside, and allow enough time to do this (instead of returning back to the airport close to departure).

Once again I managed to find the slow line carefulling checking every passport page. In these situations I wonder whether to hop into another line, but with the amount of paranoia over security usually stay put in case they get it into their heads I was acting on some signal or other. Eventually the lines for Chinese emptied out completely and so we were waved into those lines. This is a quiet time of day for international arrivals, but it still took about 30 minutes from gate to landside.

I was worried I'd get questioned over not having a Chinese address or querying where I am in transit to, but nothing was said and I was processed remarkably quickly (find visa, stamp stamp and hand passport back).

No checked bags to collect, but I stopped to change some money at the first exchange booth I saw. I am sure the rate was a rip off, but as I was only changing a tiny amount I could not be bothered hunting for a better deal. Straight through customs I checked out the screens listing check in counters by flight to see where to go, but it wasn't even listed yet.

Then off through the growing heat and humidity to the Maglev station just across from the terminal. I noticed the next departing train would leave just before 8:30am, and thus from my research would not hit full speed. Accordingly I took my time walking over to the station in time for the first train just after 8:30am. I got a same day return ticket for 80 yuan (50 yuan one way), as I'd seen from the reviews that there was no point in getting a VIP/first class ticket.

We are let onto the platform only once the arriving trainload has fully cleared the platform area. I grab a window seat. Load is very light - everyone has at least 1 row to themselves. There are baggage racks, or when not full can put bags in between or on top of the seats. The VIP car is almost identical.

The train leaves on schedule to the second, and quickly picks up speed. The acceleration is for the most part very smooth. Soon we are travelling in excess of 200kmh and seems like hardly moving. At 350kmh we get a jolt from the wind blast of the train heading in the other direction (at 700kmh combined speed!) and continue accelerating to 431kmh, which is held for only 20 seconds or so. If wanting to take a picture of the speed get in quick!

As we slowly decelerate I enjoy the approaching skyline of Shanghai and am amazed how slow 250kmh feels. All too soon we pull into Longyang station, the end of the ride.

I figure I have a few hours before I need to head back to the airport and so walk past the shysters and grab a cab. Traffic is fairly light and we are soon down by the river. I spend the next hour or so wandering around, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. I am reminded how different Shanghai is from Beijing and yet some things are similar. Fortunately Shanghai isn't as polluted as Beijing so enjoy the sun and warmth (not so much enjoyment of the humidity) even through the haziness and slightly dirty smell.

I snap out of my reverie with a start when I realise the time. Time to head back to the maglev. I could have cabbed all the way back to the airport but wasn't sure I had enough yuan (worst case I could have paid in USD I suppose). In a stroke of good timing the train pulled in moments after I arrived on the platform. This one was smaller than the one I took in the morning - only 3 carriages vs 5 earlier. As a result it was moderately full, helped along by a couple of sizeable tour groups.

Soon I was back at the airport and expecting check in to be open. When I got to the counters I saw a big queue of passengers and several check in agents taking their sweet time about changing over from Royal Brunei to Air NZ, then dealing with the cabin crew's bags, and finally deigning to deal with their customers. This was now 2 hours before departure.

Kiwi Flyer

Shanghai to Auckland dinner menu

Starter

Seafood assiette of prawn, salmon and scallop with wakami salad

Main Course

Lamb loin fillet with shank ravioli, roasted kumara, green beans and toasted almonds

Glazed chicken confit, sauteed courgettes with honey and black sesame seeds and lemon scented potato mash

Fried ling fish with oyster sauce, baby pak choy and vegetable egg fried rice

Dessert

Gourmet ice cream dessert of mango ice cream and strawberry ice cream

Caramelised plum and frangipane tartlet with vanilla mascarpone cream

Cheese

A fine selection of cheese

Fruit

A selection of seasonal fruit

Beverages

Freshly brewed or decaffeinated Gravity coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate


LIGHT REFRESHMENT

A selection of sandwiches and dim sum will be offered during your flight


SNACKS

Help yourself from our range of snacks available for you to enjoy during your flight. For something more substantial, ask your flight attendant for a hot noodle soup served with spring onion, chilli and coriander.


WINE

The premium wine selection onboard this flight has been chosen by our wine consultants: John Belsham of Foxes Island Wines, Kate Radburnd of CJ Pask Winery and Jim Harre, nationally recognised wine judge. For details of our onoboard wines, refer to your Air New Zealand Wine Guide.

Champagne

Champagne Laurent-Perrier L-P NV Brut, France. This Champagne commences with pristine floral and mineral notes to the aroma. The taste is fresh with expressive flavours from which the fruit progressively emerges. The finish is very long and refreshing. A masterfully crafted wine.

New Zealand sparkling wine. Offering a wide range of flavours, from rich, full-flavoured and vibrant styles to those which are finer and more delicate. A superb aperitif choice which also suits a wide range of light or moderately flavoured dishes.


BEVERAGES

Spirits

Glenfiddich Malt Whisky
Chivas Regal Blended Whisky
Jack Daniel's Black Label
Gordons Gin
42 Below Vodka
Courvoisier VSOP
Captain Morgan Rum
Ron Bacardi Superior

Port and Liqueurs

Portuguese Port
Grand Marnier
Bailey's Irish Cream

Beer

A selection of beer featuring Steinlager, Export Gold, Heineken and low alcohol lager

Soft Drinks

Mineral water, orange juice, apple juice, tomato juice, cola, lemonade, tonic water, ginger ale and a choice of diabetic drinks are available

42 Below Cocktails

Refer to the cocktail section at the back of your Air New Zealand Wine Guide for the 42 Below cocktails currently being showcased onboard.

Kiwi Flyer

Shanghai to Auckland breakfast menu

BEVERAGES

Start your day with a fruit smoothie, your choice of juice, freshly brewed or decaffeinated Gravity coffee, tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate

CONTINENTAL SELECTION

Fruit selection with assorted cereals and yoghurts

Croissants, muffins, white and wholemeal toast with fruit conserve

HOT OPTIONS

Scrambled eggs with chives, saute potatoes, veal steak with mushroom ragout and grilled tomato

Stir fried egg noodles with Yuxiang pork, Xiajiao dumplings and kai lan

Congee with char sui chicken and black mushroom, salted egg, pickle, fried ginger and coriander

Kiwi Flyer

Shanghai to Auckland

Once through the queue check in was painless. I again got the slow queue at immigration. At this busy time of day the lines snaked back a fair ways. Fortunately I had spied the customs and departure cards at the landside entrance and check in counters respectively (why are they not both found at check in I do not know). Some others had not, and after lengthy waiting in the queue sent back to fill them in.

Security was quick. Even though liquid rule is in force there is no need to remove from carry on.

I have a quick look at duty free but nothing strikes me as a compelling bargain for my remaining yuan. So I headed to the "first class lounge number 18" which is Air NZ's designated lounge, for which I have an invite card. The lounge is sparse. No shower (as expected), minimal reading matter, almost non-existent food and very limited drink selection.

I remembered that SQ's lounge is not a contract lounge, and SQ has a flight departing very close to the same time as the NZ flight, thus I should have access to the SQ lounge through my status. As luck would have it, today the gate being used by NZ is right outside the SQ lounge so no horrible backtracking or walking the long length of the terminal to make the flight.

Along the way I noticed a NH own lounge also, but did not try entering. I have a feeling that without an invite card, or flying that airline, or have status with that airline, there is no access.

The SQ lounge is joint business and first (dashing my hopes of something nice for my PPS status), rather crowded and probably the worst SQ lounge I have seen. Nonetheless it was still much better than the contract lounge used by NZ - that's how bad that lounge is. There is a modest yummy food selection, and moderate drinks selection. Alas no dom here.

Soon time to leave the lounge and board. There is a scrum at the entrance to the airbridge. The airport design is deficient in that no holding area by the gate, and multiple pathways to approach the airbridge. Result is too many pax arriving from different directions and nowhere to wait while boarding pass and passport are checked.

Once through that I made my way to my seat and settled in with my usual bits and bobs for inflight. I have a nice chat with my neighbour who travels the route regularly, finding it more convenient than his old routing via Singapore on SQ.

We have a few pre-departure drinks while the rest of the aircraft boards, and given menus, amenity kits, slippers (hmmm why does PVG get slippers but not HKG?) and offered yesterday's NZ newspaper (which I naturally decline). I find a magazine I haven't read before in the rack at the rear of the business cabin. It seems today the business cabin is only 3/4 full. When I'd checked a few days ago it appeared to be full so maybe some late cancellations or date changes?

A hot towel was handed out, but not collected until we reached cruising altitude. Also of course NZ arrival cards. As usual we were asked for our drink orders for after take off. I asked what specific white wines were onboard and was told to look up the wine guide So I then had to explain that not all wines got loaded on every flight (the guide lists several of each variety), at which point she understood what I was getting at and brought them out for me to check ^

Once the IFE was switched on I noticed my handset wasn't working properly. I could select a program to watch but not adjust anything (volume, light, pause, rewind, etc). After a while where my call light was being ignored (again - see the trip over) I made my way to the galley to check if there was anything they could do. Rather than look into it she just said to switch with another seat. Hopefully they made a note for someone to look at once back in Auckland so that the next passenger doesn't have the same problem. So I moved all my gear over to the new seat - and was lucky that there was nearby overhead bin space for the first row is always a challenge.

The meal service was moderately fast although a bit inconsistent. Eg desert wine brought around so much later than the desert that it was half eaten, and took a few goes to get the right glasswear.

As I was a bit tired and a long day ahead of me (we'd been told that we would be ahead of the scheduled early hour of arrival), I quickly got ready for sleep while most passengers where still having their tea or coffees, put on some nice music and settled in. I managed a few hours sleep before awaking a couple hours earlier than I'd hoped.

I dozed a bit more but eventually succumbed. We had indeed made up a lot of time on the schedule - more than an hour, and so the time between dinner and breakfast services was rather shorter than most passengers would be comfortable with. At least breakfast didn't start until less than 2 hours before arrival.

I couldn't help but notice the content of the breakfast was similar to that served in economy class, albeit with a few extra accompaniments (yah for smoothies), better presentation and much slower service.

I was still attempting to doze as we touched down in the darkness, having a rare straight in approach to land towards the east. The super early arrival meant we arrived not long after the US and south america flights, thus busy at immigration. All the booths downstairs (once again upstairs NZ & Australia immigration was closed - it has now been a while since I've used that) were manned and so the wait wasn't too long. Through customs and agriculture x-ray very fast (most people from the earlier flights still waiting for their checked bags).

I toyed with changing my plans given how much earlier we'd arrived (and no secondary either). I decided against heading home since it would take up much more time. So I stuck with my original plan to walk across to domestic terminal, arriving a bit before security opened, wait a bit, then up to the lounge for a quick shower, and head directly into work.