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This trip report documents my trip to New Zealand and Australia with my mother in late May/early June. It is not just about the flights, but about the trip as a whole, including the hotels and destinations. Feel free to skip the parts that don’t interest you since it is very long, but I figured this could be helpful in terms of accommodations and what to do as well, at least from my perspective. I hope you enjoy the commentary and pics (which there are plenty of!), and any feedback would be greatly appreciated! For anyone interested, here is a direct link to the photo album.

Planning:

I booked this trip in September of 2006. Since United was raising their award rates from 90K to 110K in Business, which was still a steal at the current rate, I figured it was time to cash in before the rate went up in October. Since I have done United Business and First dozens of times internationally, I definitely wanted to try something new. Fortunately, Air New Zealand is in the Star Alliance and they seem to have a fantastic business class product, or as they refer to it, Business Premier. I had absolutely no trouble finding availability for two people in Business Premier, and managed to get what I thought was a great routing. I got IAD-LAX-IAD in business on the 777 with United, which is a LOT better than domestic first, and managed to get LAX-AKL-LAX with NZ. Additionally, we got business seats AKL-SYD-AKL, but decided to only visit Australia for three days, and just focus on Sydney while there since we had a limited amount of time. We would be spending 10 days in New Zealand.

Between September and the day of the flight there were plenty of schedule changes. For example, LAX-AKL-LAX was originally 747's both ways, but the return was switched to a 777, which I actually liked, since it would give me a better chance to explore NZ’s fleet. Additionally, AKL-SYD-AKL was on 767's both ways, but the SYD-AKL turned into an A320, which, while not as spacious as the 767, gave me the opportunity to test out a new product.

Something interesting which happened by coincidence was that the return date, June 10, is my mother's birthday. We would be leaving SYD at 11:30AM for AKL, followed by our flight to LAX. We would still manage to get to LAX at 12:40PM, giving us a full day to explore the city, flying back the next morning.

Perhaps foolishly, I chose where we would go by the placement of Priority Club properties, since I have status with them. In New Zealand, that would be Queenstown, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. We decided to stick with Crowne Plaza's all the way, since that would hopefully give us upgrades to better rooms as well as some extra perks, minus Wellington, where I managed to get a stay at the Intercontinental for 5,000 points a night!^ For Sydney we decided to do one night at the Crowne Plaza Darling Harbor, and two nights at the Intercontinental Sydney. Since it would be a weekend, we were able to use a Buy One Get One Free certificate, or BOGO. We paid for a standard club room and immediately got upgraded to a Harbour View Executive Suite, which cost us a total of $300USD, with the second night free, or $150 a night with tax! Lastly, we booked the Sheraton Gateway in Los Angeles on points. In total, for 14 nights hotel accommodation we paid around $1500 USD.^

Also, since our time in New Zealand would be somewhat limited and we wanted to see as much as possible, we decided to book our flights within New Zealand, instead of driving. Since this is their winter and driving can take a bit longer, not to mention they drive on the “wrong” side of the road, this is something we passed on. We decided to go from South to North, so immediately upon arriving in AKL we would be continuing to ZQN, then fly ZQN-CHC three days later, then CHC-WLG another three days later, and then WLG-AKL another two days later, connecting to our other flights. We paid around $300 per person for those flights, which was worth it, since we would get lounge access, extra baggage as a Star Gold, etc. Since their normal baggage allowance is 20kg per person this was a real life saver.

Here is our itinerary in its entirety:

Saturday, May 26
UA1576 (Operated by Ted)
TPA-IAD
1:48PM-4:03PM

Saturday, May 26
UA947
IAD-LAX
5:50PM-8:05PM

Saturday, May 26
NZ 005
LAX-AKL
10:30PM-6:15AM (second day)

Monday, May 28
NZ639
AKL-ZQN
10:00AM-11:50AM

Thursday, May 31
NZ518
ZQN-CHC
10:20AM-11:05AM

Sunday, June 3
NZ456
CHC-WLG
2:50PM-3:35PM

Tuesday, June 5
NZ418
WLG-AKL
10:00AM-11:00AM

Thursday, June 7
NZ105
AKL-SYD
4:00PM-5:30PM

Sunday, June 10
NZ704
SYD-AKL
11:30AM-4:30PM

Sunday, June 10
NZ006
AKL-LAX
7:30PM-12:40PM

Monday, June 11
UA946
LAX-IAD
7:50AM-3:44PM

Monday, June 11
UA1577
IAD-TPA
4:50PM-7:14PM

Day of trip:

Since our flight only left at 1:48PM, I tried to sleep in as long as I could, since I knew it would be an incredibly long journey, not to mention that we would get to New Zealand once again in the morning with a full day ahead of us. I slept until around 9:30AM, and finished up my packing. I made sure that I had my passport, had packed all of my electronics and their cords, a power converter, chocolate for the crews, etc.

I usually cut it close when arriving at the airport, but since I was flying with my mother, we had a lot of luggage to check, and this was a trip I did not want to miss, we played it safe. At times traffic is unpredictable to the airport, so we left at around 11:30AM. Fortunately the traffic was not bad at all, so we made it to the airport by around 12:15PM. My brother had also come down for the weekend, and he was flying CO back to EWR, so my dad dropped us all off at once.

At TPA:

We all went together to the Ted Premier/First counter, and were second in line. We were helped within five minutes, although the lines were not too bad for everyone else either. We were checking two bags, one of which weighed in at 63lbs, and the other 66lbs, which was a relief, since we thought we had packed too much. He promptly checked us in, and denied my request to interline the bags to our flight to ZQN, which was on a separate reservation. That was fine with me since we had nearly four hours in AKL, and we promptly got our boarding passes all the way to AKL, although he told us to get our NZ boarding passes reprinted at LAX. Much to my surprise, our LAX-AKL leg was now in seats 6K and 7K, instead of row one, like I originally chose. I was fine with that, since it is still in the front section of the aircraft, and after much convincing myself decided I actually preferred it since I would have a view of the entire front cabin. My mother, who was nominated for Premier Associate did not have that reflected on her BP, I guess since I didn't call to have her Mileage Plus number updated in the system. Not a big loss, really.

By the time we finished check-in it was around 12:30PM, so we bid our farewells to my brother and headed over to the E concourse, where our flight was to depart from. We took the tram airside and were met by a relatively short TSA line. That being said, I am used to no waits, since I usually frequent TPA at around 5:30AM on Saturdays, not exactly peak travel time. We put everything on the belt, which turned out to be two bags, a garment bag, and four containers, since I had a laptop and jacket, and my mom had a lot of liquids.

We were through security by around 12:45PM and walked through the wonderful E concrouse towards thegate area, which was full. At around 1PM I decided it was time to grab a bite to eat for the flight, since our dinner IAD-LAX flight would not leave until 5:50PM, which means no dinner until around 7PM. I got a Chicken Frontega Panini at Da Vinci's Cafe, where there was a particularly unusual lady making the sandwiches. Not sure how to describe her, but she acted very, erm, different.

I checked the loads of the flight the night before and noticed that the flight was completely sold out. As is typical with TPA, which does not have too many elites, Economy Plus was showing completely empty, and the back was packed to the gills. As a result, they had to play the usual "Who would like to upgrade to Economy Plus for $22" game, followed by just upgrading people for free, since they needed seats. Boarding started at around 1:20PM and we were among the first handful to board. The agent jokingly denied my mom boarding because she was in seating area three (although she is Premier Associate, but that was not reflected on her BP), but said that she was of course kidding. We proceeded down the jetway and were promptly on our way to what would be a very long and enjoyable journey.

Saturday, May 26
UA1576 (Operated by Ted)
TPA-IAD
Aircraft: Airbus 320
Seat: 11D
Scheduled Departure Time: 1:48PM
Actual Departure Time: 1:45PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 4:03PM
Actual Arrival Time: 3:50PM
Load: 100%

We promptly headed to our seats and I took out the essentials for any frequent flyer: ipod, Bose headsets, information on our destination, all the flight info, etc. I had put my small carryon under the seat in front of me, and the guy in 11A told me that he would put it up now since the FA will not allow it. Now, I have never had an issue with this, but I did it anyway, since I didn’t want to end up with a carryon in the very back of the plane. Since 11B and 11C were empty for the time being, we got in a conversation. He was also a very frequent flyer and lived in Lisbon and worked for a company based in Tampa. He started a Ted rant, which I can understand all too well, and said he would avoid it in the future. He traveled in paid business and was annoyed that he had to pay a few dollars to upgrade on an $8,000 ticket, another example of United’s stupid policy! He said the BA flight was sold out in all classes, or else he would have taken it.

Eventually every last seat filled up on the flight, and we pushed back a few minutes early. The captain advised us that the flight time would be 1hr59min, and we should be arriving ontime. The FA's forgot to ask if everyone in the exit row was willing and able, to my surprise. We had a quick taxi to runway 18R, and a quick ride up to our cruising altitude, at which point the seatbelt sign was turned off. I snapped a quick picture of the cabin from my seat.

The FA's started Tedevision, which I had unfortunately already seen twice this month. It featured funny 911 calls on Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien with the female star from Heroes (), a Saturday Night Live New Age band skit, Everyone Hates Chris, King of the Hill, etc. Since I had already seen this I started the introduction to my trip report and organized all of my travel documents.

Drinks were promptly served, but unfortunately it took a while for the exit row to get served. Since two FA's start service from the front and two from row 12, which is one row behind the exit row, we were among the last to be served. I always thought that they should start service for the front of the plane from row 11, since that is often where the most elites sit. Either way, nothing to complain about, but it took a while. When taking drink orders they handed out Snyders pretzels, and I ordered a Diet Coke. In typical Ted fashion, it was half full, most of which was ice, with no can, of course.

I went to the front of the plane for a refill, where the FA accidentally spilled some Diet Coke on my hand. She was very nice and apologetic, and so was the rest of the crew. They seemed quite junior, which isn't surprising, since I doubt “riding” Ted is very lucrative!

On approach into IAD we hit quite a few bumps and there were some very thick clouds. We vectored around the weather several times, as could be heard on Channel 9. We landed and taxied to the C Concourse, and ultimately arrived around 15 minutes early. We quickly disembarked and headed into the wonderful C Concourse of IAD.

At IAD:

Since our departure gate to LAX was C4 and we were around C20, we decided to visit the C16 RCC first. There was a surprisingly friendly agent there, which is certainly atypical for IAD. The man in front of us was flying F to FRA, and was redirected to the IFL. Just as we were arriving they were bringing out the veggie "bucket," which consisted of celery, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. This was in addition to the wide array of other snacks, namely cheese and crackers. I grabbed a Sierra Mist from the fridge and we tried to find an open area in this crowded lounge. I tried to recharge my laptop, although I finally realized it was not charging, and tried at least a handful of plugs, all of which were not working.

After 40 minutes we left the lounge and headed to the next one on the way to our gate, which was the C7 RCC. At this lounge there was a bit of a line to get in, but the agents who were supposed to do CS were not busy, so directed people over there to get in. There was one rude man that cut everyone in line, going up to the desk and just holding up his RCC card, as if the rest of us did not have a valid reason for getting in. The lady said he would have to wait in line just like everyone else, but he just stepped back a few feet, still cutting everyone else. Jeez, people these days...

I headed to a plug where my laptop actually charged for a bit and watched the Cornell vs. Duke lacrosse game. At around 4:55PM we headed to the gate and I inquired about a possible buy-up to first. The man, who was friendly, said that it would not be possible because I was on an award ticket. This surprised me, since it's not a double upgrade, so I thought anyone who was originally ticketed in C could really buy up, especially since F was wide open. The Red Carpet “circus” was already in full action, with the self important fools standing inside the red carpet "cage" waiting for boarding to be announced, as if there would be some incredible rush to get aboard. Boarding did start promptly, and we proceeded up the jetway. Always love taking flights where the jetway is at an upwards angle instead of a downwards angle. With this, the real journey began...

Saturday, May 26
UA947
IAD-LAX
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 8J
Scheduled Departure Time: 5:50PM
Actual Departure Time: 6:05PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 8:05PM
Actual Arrival Time: 8:15PM
Load: 60%F/90%C/90%Y

Immediately upon boarding we were met by two FA's, both of which were smiling and friendly, which is always a great start to a flight. We walked through the galley and took a left turn to seats 8H and 8J. There were blankets and pillows on each seat, and I quickly stowed our bags in the overhead, once again taking out the essentials. For those not familiar with row eight, it is a bulkhead row, and IMO has plenty of legroom. I am just under six feet and can’t reach the bulkhead when my legs are totally stretched out. On the other side of the bulkhead is First Class.
It was particularly hot on the plane and very little air was coming out of the air nozzles, certainly not cold air at that. I closed the window shades by the FA's recommendation, trying to cool off a bit. My coat was taken within minutes, and pre-departure OJ and water were offered a few minutes after that, and the very friendly FA remembered the older couple behind me from a previous flight. I took water and my mom took OJ. I am so happy that UA finally made the switch to Coke since that means no more Aquafina. Now it is spring water, which is MUCH better! Lastly, FA's came around with four newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Washington Post.

At around 5:48PM the door closed, following the "departure check" by the GA. The safety demonstration commenced immediately, yet we were still not moving. During the demonstration the elderly lady in 3F was touching the right side of her suite, and the whole panel fell off, and you could tell she was very embarrassed. The FA came by and said that she saw it, assuring her it was not a problem, and offered to switch her to 3E.

The 777 next to us pushed back with no sign of movement on our part. The captain came on and said that the last bags were being loaded and it should take seven or eight more minutes, saying we should be pushing back on the hour. Furthermore, our flight time would be 4hr47min. Unfortunately, 6:00PM passed, and we still had no movement. I observed a United B747, a South African Airways A346, an SAS A330 in Star colors, a KLM 330, an Austrian B777, and two United B777's takeoff right in our view. It was interesting since they all rotated exactly next to us, and pretty much all at the same point, to my surprise. I would have thought it takes a fully loaded B747 a bit longer to rotate than a B777.

Finally at 6:05PM we pushed back, but instead of following the other heavies we headed over to runway 30. As we were taxiing the FA came around asking for meal orders, the choice being between Lasagna Bolognese and Beef with asparagus. My mom and I both went with the beef. As I listened to Channel 9 I heard one of the most pleasant Air Traffic Controllers I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. He was wishing everyone a "Great Holiday Weekend," incredibly friendly and helpful, and all around in an awesome mood. People like that can't help but put the pilots as well as those listening to Channel 9 in a great mood. We were following a United 757, taxied into position, and were cleared for takeoff within a minute.

You can't beat the powerful takeoff of a 777, and we immediately made a left turn to 250. We continued our climb, at which point I took my shoes off, raised my headrest, brought out my PTV to watch Airshow, reclined my seat, and raised my footrest. Around 15 minutes after takeoff the purser activated the personal entertainment programming, which consisted of four movie choices and five short subject programs. The movie choices were The Painted Veil, The Bridge to Terabithia, Miss Potter, and The Holiday. I had already seen the Bridge to Terabithia earlier in the month, so went with The Holiday since the other options just didn’t interest me. For anyone not familiar with UA seat controls, here they are.

At around 6:40PM I could hear silverware rattling in the galley, and the salty smell of heated nuts quickly filled the cabin. Hot nuts and drinks were brought around promptly at 7PM. I took a Diet Coke and introduced my mother to the wonderful sensation which are United's hot nuts! Within a few more minutes refills were offered, and my mother actually commented that she liked the red wine, possibly a first on United!

Shortly thereafter warm towels were handed out, which had just the right moisture and temperature, and were hastily collected. Within another ten minutes tablecloths were laid out, and literally within a minute my meal arrived. For obvious reasons UA can't serve people in row 15 as fast as those in row eight, which is a huge advantage of sitting in the front of the cabin. The dinner consisted of a salad with two cherry tomatoes, a cucumber, and lots of iceberg lettuce. It was served with buttermilk ranch dressing and was decent. The entree consisted of beef tenderloin with a dark sauce, some asparagus, and potato wedges. I have to say it really was quite delicious. It was cooked just right and the asparagus tasted fresh. In the meantime the FA's came around with some bread, which was the choice between wheat rolls and foccacio bread. Lastly, for dessert, there was a piece of chocolate cheesecake. I have to say, it was really good. Overall, it was a surprisingly good meal.

As the food was finishing up we were almost 90 minutes into The Holiday. It was definitely not a great movie, but it passed the time. I then headed to the galley for a bit and asked the FA if she was in the United Airbus safety video by chance, since she looked just like the one lady. She said she was not, but she was friends with Ann (who xj47 loves beyond compare), who is. After I mentioned that I was heading down under she said how she went to Australia for her honeymoon, saying it was the best trip she had ever taken. There were constant water refills, which was greatly appreciated, and always done with a smile.

There was light chop for about an hour, and the FA's were asked to take their seats twice as we were flying over Texas. We were at this point going from FL360 to FL380 and the captain told center on Channel 9, "Center, we have light chop, make that light turbulence, when can we expect it to get better?" He said in about 30 miles, which turned out to be just about right.

For the rest of the flight I started doing some reading on United's Three Perfect Days article on Auckland, although we would not really be visiting it for a couple of weeks, as well as some other info on New Zealand. We were well into our descent over Palm Springs and the views were breathtaking with the setting sun over the mountains. After an incredibly smooth touchdown on Runway 25L, we arrived at our gate within minutes. We had left our garment bag in the closet, and when trying to retrieve it on the way out noticed it was no longer there. It turned out the FA had put it in the galley and it was "waiting" for us, which was not a great idea, IMO, especially since we had gone through the opposite aisle.

At LAX:

We tried to make our way through the wonderful maze which at times is LAX, and outside of the terminal. We walked across the street towards the other side of the airport, passing right by Encounters and near the tower. It was pleasant outside, maybe 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and the walking was much welcomed exercise both after the flights we had completed and before our longer journey. We could see the AF, VS, and NZ tails from below, which looked stunning, lit up.

We entered Terminal 2 under the "Air New Zealand" sign, where we were met by an almost deserted counter. In front of us was Economy check-in, and to the left was Business Premier and Star Alliance Gold check-in. Since we already had our boarding passes and there seemed to be no way to get to security, I asked one of the agents for directions. She said I would have to wait in line to print my boarding pass, and I asked if I could not do that at the Lounge, to which she responded "Of course." She told us security was out the door, a turn to the right, and the next door. At this time it was around 8:45PM.

Once inside they had one side of security for Business and one side for Coach, but unfortunately this was only for the boarding pass check. The security check was all one, and was about a 15 minute line. There were a bunch of French Polonaise girls in red uniforms, I guess from some kind of competition. The security was somewhat efficient, and we were in the terminal by 9PM. Unlike some other terminals at LAX (cough, TBIT, cough), Terminal 2 was not that bad at all. It had nice shops and looked decent, which was a nice change. We took the elevator up to the second level, where the Air New Zealand lounge is located.

Past the doors there was a very friendly lady who asked for our boarding passes, and since they were still on UA card stock, asked for an e-ticket as well as passport. We handed her both, and within about three minutes we were given new BP’s and invited in. My first impression of the lounge was that it was by far the best lounge at LAX.^ The entrance looked incredibly nice, with plasmas showing the attractions in New Zealand. Opposite the reception were world clocks and a map of New Zealand.

Once inside I couldn't help but notice how crowded the lounge was! It was packed, and there was essentially no place to sit without having someone else right next to you. Since NZ001, the other flight to AKL leaves at 9:30PM, I had a hard time believing this was all just our flight. It turns out that NZ001 was delayed, and only left a few minutes before us. There were several NZ agents dealing with the passengers from the first flight, apparently rebooking those that would misconnect, and overall seemed to have done an absolutely fantastic job based on the passenger reaction!

Nonetheless, the lounge was very impressive. It was modern and chic, and had awesome showers, food, and drinks. There were two freezers filled with all kinds of drinks, and they had an impressive wine section as well. The food choices were quite good: cheese pizza, ham panini, green salad, international cheeses, fresh fruit, all kinds of candies and packaged snacks, etc. Furthermore, they had a ton of computers that were modern, as well as plenty of laptop ports. Simply put, it was a fantastic lounge!

An announcement was made at 9:30PM that the crew had just boarded and were doing their safety checks, so boarding would start in 10-15 minutes. Since I always love taking cabin pictures and had never tried Air New Zealand, we left the lounge at around 9:40PM. We took the short walk to gate 28, where boarding was not underway. As I stood there I reflected on all the painful redeyes to IAD I have taken on mileage runs to earn the miles, and how I always sat there musing at the planes headed to Australia and New Zealand, wishing I was in one of their premium seats. Finally, this time I was! After boarding some disabled people, boarding began for Business Premier passengers. I boarded immediately, and was VERY excited.

Saturday, May 26
NZ 005
LAX-AKL
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 7K
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:30PM
Actual Departure Time: 10:32PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 6:15AM (second day)
Actual Arrival Time: 6:19AM (second day)
Load: 100%C

My first reaction: WOW! To say that I was a five-year-old in a candy store would be a total understatement! The cabin was absolutely immaculate and simply stunning! We entered through door 2L and were immediately asked for our boarding passes by the two FA's at the door. They directed us towards the front of the plane and I managed to snap a quick picture of the rear business class, which is between doors 2L and 1L. It is in a 1-2-1 layout, and I must say that the aisles were incredibly tight there, not even wide enough for me to roll my carryon through. I then proceeded into the nose of the jumbo, and was in awe! The lighting was incredible and it just looked amazing, along with the great music.

No picture can do Air New Zealand's Business Premier even the slightest bit of justice, and that's coming from someone who has had the NZ forward Business Premier section as my wallpaper on my laptop for six months. Simply incredible! Seriously, all I can do is post pictures, but it is simply fascinating! It has seven rows, with one seat on each side, and an island in the middle, which is used for newspapers, snacks, etc. As the boarding process continued it was used as a chatting place for two of the passengers seated across from me as they sipped champagne. The actual material in the cabin reminded me of the interior of a Searay boat, sort of.

Before I could reach my seat a very friendly middle aged male FA hanged my coat and garment bag. Also, beverages were immediately offered, the choice being water, OJ, or champagne, all in proper glassware. I went with OJ, and it had a kick to it. For the next several minutes I was snapping pictures of the cabin since the forward section was still almost empty. The seat design is simply amazing! I know I sound like a rambling idiot, but I don't know what words to use to describe it. This is the first time that I have done staggered business class, and I truly love it! This is without question the best Business product I have experienced, although I should save that judgment until I do the new Singapore Business in mid-June. Within a few more minutes two FA's came around with the newspaper selection, which I declined.

The seat is at approximately a 60-degree angle forward, facing the interior of the cabin. Each seat has a PTV (which during boarding had amazing pictures of New Zealand), LCD light, fold out table, armrest which can go down, etc., on the right hand side. Also, there was a green pillow on each seat. Furthermore, the right side of the seat had the in-flight magazine, safety card, amenity ziplock type bag, some good noise canceling headsets, and next to it was the menu, wine list, and a bottle of Crystal Geyser water. Behind the seat was a mattress pad, a very large pillow, and a wonderful duvet. Each seat also had an ottoman across from it, which had an individual seatbelt in case people wanted to dine together. The seatbelt of the seat itself was quite impressive. It was heavily padded, which was very very comfortable.

The seat controls were to the left of the seat, which included recline, bringing the seat back up, and putting the table out. When you push the "table" button, which is lit in a blue neon light, the table pops upwards out of the right side of the seat, and you have to manually pull it up. You can adjust it however you want, be it pulling it forward or away from you. I would say it is about twice the size of a standard business class tray. Simply an incredibly impressive product! I then headed to the lavatory to change into my Lufthansa pajamas, and was quite impressed by the bathroom. It had all kinds of creams, and the floor was a bunch of little tiles, which looked awesome. Without question it was the nicest airplane bathroom I have seen, although certainly not the most spacious.

About 25 minutes after boarding the cabin was totally full, and pre-departure services seemed to be in full swing. The FA's were collecting all of the items for takeoff, since there is no storage in the seats and everything must be stored for takeoff.

A few minutes later the captain came on announcing our flight time of 12hr40min, with that wonderful New Zealand accent, wishing us a very pleasant journey. The in-flight supervisor came on the PA and asked us to watch the safety video, which was playing on our personal monitors, located to our right. The safety video was good, IMO, especially coming from someone who is used to the Ted safety video (I know, no real competition there). Unlike the US airlines, the FA was standing in the front of the cabin, because there is a point in the safety video that says "Flight Attendants will now demonstrate where the nearest exits are located." I found the difference in the word choice compared to the American safety videos quite interesting. For example, they don’t refer to them as overhead bins, but rather as overhead lockers. Also, instead of fastening the seatbelt we are to “do up the seatbelt.” Also, the seatbelt buckle was referred to as a “lever.” Nothing major, but it was interesting.

After the safety video finished we promptly pushed back for an almost ontime departure. I could feel the stress on the wheels and how heavy the aircraft was as we taxied to runway 24L. That is likely because we were sitting right over the wheel, but it just felt awfully heavy! At around 10:40PM we were taxiing into position on the runway and stopped for a short time. Seconds later the powerful engines spooled up and we were rolling down the runway, lifting off right at the end of 24R. This was definitely a very long roll, which I love. One of the interesting things about sitting in the staggered seats is that you are not facing forward, so it was a very different kind of sensation during takeoff and climb. All along NZ's Airshow, which I quickly learned was the best out there, was telling us the exact details of our journey. It was completely 3D, even showed our position within the airport, and provided all kinds of awesome info. Later in the flight it even showed us where in the world it was dark and where it was light!^

As we passed 9,000 feet the seatbelt sign was turned off and I immediately retrieved my belongings from the overhead that I wanted to use during the flight. I always love how foreign airlines turn the seatbelt sign off so fast, which leaves a few minutes to do stuff before the service begins in the aisles, as opposed to the American carriers which usually turn it off upon reaching cruising altitude. I played around with the different seat positions for a while, and sat on my mom's ottoman to see how she was enjoying the flight. While I was initially planning on dining with her, the knee space was a little tight with “dining for two,” so we decided to dine separately.

As we continued our smooth climb over the Pacific I chose to familiarize myself with the entertainment system of NZ. Based on the entertainment magazine there are plenty of movies, sitcoms, and games to choose from. I should probably be ashamed of myself for never having seen Borat in its entirety, so went with that. I don't think I have ever laughed as hard in my life!

As we leveled off at FL360 the service began. NZ seems to do their service differently than the other carriers, which I must honestly say I like, although I know that many will disagree with me. Instead of starting with drinks, tablecloths were first distributed. The table really is big, so there is room for the meal tray as well as separate drinks. Once the tablecloths were distributed beverages were immediately offered. I went with a Diet Coke. Here is how the dinner menu read:

"Soon after take-off you may wish to take advantage of the superior comfort of our lie-flat beds. Our Fast Dine Supper enables an earlier sleep by providing you with a quick meal prior to the general meal service. Alternatively, you can enjoy our full dining experience and receive personalized service throughout your meal.

Fast Dine Supper
Sunchoke and pear soup with spiced pear and blue cheese crouton
Hot sour dough bread
Chocolates

Supper

Starter
Olive oil poached New Zealand salmon with haricot vert, frisee, mache, balsamic red onions and hazelnut aioli

Main Course
New Zealand lamb two ways with fennel puree, caponata (courgette, tomato, aubergine, basil, oregano, pinenuts), roasted grapes and rich wine jus
Pan roasted New Zealand snapper with truffled corn coulis, rock shrimp spatzle, sweet peas, summer corn and sauteed pea greens
Wood roasted organic chicken breast on short rib hash, roasted cipolline onions and wilted spinach

Dessert
Gourmet ice cream dessert of caramel cone and double chip ice cream with vanilla almond wafer

Cheese
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese

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

Snacks
Help yourself from our range of snacks available for you to enjoy during your flight

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 Mariner
Bailey 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 selection at the back of your Air New Zealand Wine Guide for the 42 Below cocktails currently being showcased onboard.”

Sauvignon Blanc

Kaituna Valley
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Saint Clair
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Waipara Hills
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Wither Hills
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Chardonnay

Fiddler’s Green Waipara
Chardonnay - 2004

Staete Landt Vineyard
Chardonnay - 2004

Ngatarawa Silks
Chardonnay - 2005

Wither Hills
Chardonnay – 2004

Premium White Wines

Allan Scott Marlborough
Riesling - 2005

Trinity Hills
Hawke’s Bay Viognier - 2005

Waipara Hills
Pinot Gris – 2006

Pinot Noir

Highfield Estate
Pinot Noir - 2005

Nautilus Marlborough
Pinot Noir - 2005

Palliser Estate
Pinot Noir - 2004

West Brook Winery
Pinot Noir - 2005

Premium Red Wines

Craggy Range
Sophia Merlot/Cabernet Franc - 2004

Pegasus Bay
Merlot Cabarnet - 2003

Trinity Hills Hawke’s Bay
Tempranillo - 2005

Montana Reserve
Marlborough Merlot – 2004

Te Awa Winery
Hawke’s Bay Merlot - 2004

Vidal Estate
Syrah – 2004

Dessert Wines

Forrest Estate
Botrytised Riesling - 2005

Jackson Estate
Botrytis Riesling - 2006

Within another five minutes the first course was distributed on a tray. It came with olive oil, modern salt and pepper shakers, butter, and a glass of spring water. While I am not a fan of anything from the sea for the most part, the salmon was delicious. Within another two minutes the same male FA came around with a choice of breads, which consisted of whole grain rolls, garlic bread, and some white bread. I went with the garlic bread, and he left me two pieces. I have always been a fan of the Singapore Airlines garlic bread, but this one outdid it by a mile! It was fresh, crisp, and not soggy!

Just as I finished up the starter my drink was refilled and the same wonderful FA came around offering a choice of all three entrees, which were all on the tray. I went with the chicken, and was also offered more garlic bread, which I accepted. While the chicken was not bad, it was far from great. The spinach was a little dry, and I didn't really like the onions. I also didn't like the fact that it was served in such a small dish, which made some of the food spill over. I have to admit that a lot of my food and water ended up outside of the dish and glass, but that was due to Borat. Wow, just too damn funny!

As I took the last bite of my main course the tray was literally collected within seconds, and I was immediately offered ice cream. This was without question the best dessert I have ever had, let alone on a plane! It had chocolate chunks and was not rock hard like ice cream on airplanes usually is. Within a minute of finishing I was offered the cheese plate, which I declined, although it looked excellent. Then coffee or tea was offered, and I accepted a coffee, which was very good. Lastly, hot towels were brought around, which were great!

From the tablecloth being put on the table to me being totally done was less than an hour. The service was incredibly personalized, and for all I knew, there was no one else in the cabin, although everyone chose the full dinner service in the forward cabin. Now, I know many people will say that the dinner seems very rushed, and they like the “long meal presentation.” I would have to disagree, personally. I did Lufthansa First last summer and the meal service took three hours on a seven hour flight! While I am all for great service and an excellent meal presentation, I also like to get up, recline my seat, and just relax, and NZ definitely did an exceptional job with that.^ I was able to immediately recline my seat and finish up Borat. To be fair the meal service was somewhat sub-standard. There was no salad, and like I said earlier the entree was not particularly good and was served in a very small dish. That being said, I found it more than adequate, especially on a flight that leaves at this time of the night!

At that point immigration cards for New Zealand were handed out, which I filled out immediately, since I always hate dealing with them after waking up in the morning. Once that was finished, which was only around 100 minutes into the flight, I put my seat into the bed position. In order to turn the seat into a bed you have to get out of the seat and push the button on the right side of the seat, which has a neon blue picture of a bed. The seat folds over, making the backside the bed, and it meets the ottoman. It is very quick and easy.

I then made my bed and snug up under the duvet. While the seat itself is not incredibly wide and may seem somewhat claustrophobic for a larger person, the area where you put your head is wider, going into the space in front of you. This leaves plenty of room and does not feel claustrophobic at all. Furthermore, you can stow your armrest to turn it into a large open space. I would say that the seat is as good as the United First Suite for sleeping, and I think the UA F Suite is one of the best products in the sky for sleeping. I managed to get six hours of "real" sleep, and woke up about five hours out of New Zealand. I went to use the restroom and gave the crew some chocolate I had brought aboard for them for their great service. Overall, the seat is absolutely AWESOME for sleeping, especially with the excellent duvet and pillow! I also checked out the counter in the middle of the galley, which had the snacks out at this point. The snacks were Three Musketeers candy bars, grapes, boxes of See’s chocolate, Walkers Shortbread, this packaged coconut chocolate thing, which was so good, and some more bottles of water. I grabbed a bottle of water and some snacks for later in the trip.

At that point I decided to try and get a little more sleep, since it would be a long day in New Zealand. I managed to get another 2.5 hours of sleep, and woke up with 2.5 hours left in flight. At this point I decided to watch some TV shows, and settled for a hilarious episode of Two and a Half Men, followed by Everyone Hates Chris, The Simpsons, and Malcolm in the Middle. As Two and a Half Men was finishing up breakfast service began. First some large, warm towels were brought around. The breakfast menu read as follows:

Breakfast

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

Fruit and Cereal
Fruit selection with assorted cereals and yoghurts

Bakery
Croissants, wholemeal and fruit toast with conserve

Hot Breakfast
Creamy scrambled eggs with chives, chicken and sun dried tomato sausages, grilled bacon and mushrooms
Orange broiche French toast with passionfruit cream and manuka honey and apple syrup

The service started with a tray of orange juice and smoothies. I went with a strawberry smoothie, which was fantastic! It was refreshing, light, and just right after a great sleep and to start the morning! I wish more airlines would have smoothies! Shortly thereafter the tray was brought out, which consisted of a fruit appetizer, including oranges, grapes, and melon. It too was refreshing and just right. At the same time the male FA came around with the breadbasket, which had croissants, wheat toast, and white toast. I went with a croissant and wheat toast, which were crispy, warm, and fresh! As I finished up my smoothie I went for a fresh glass of OJ, which had the same kick to it as the pre-departure one the night before.

Lastly, the main courses were brought around and I went with the french toast. It consisted of two pieces of french toast as well as some side I couldn't really identify. The french toast was excellent as well, wrapping up what was the best breakfast meal service I have ever experienced on a flight!^

At this point we had about 50 minutes left in-flight. We had some light chop, and the seatbelt sign went on for a bit. I changed back into my arrival clothes, brushed my teeth, and freshened up. One of the great things about a flight to New Zealand from LAX is that you have plenty of time to enjoy the onboard services and get some sleep, unlike the east coast to Europe flights which I am used to, which last seven hours at most. When the first meal service is finished two hours after takeoff and breakfast starts 90 minutes before arrival, very little time is left for sleep.

With about 40 minutes left I started packing up my belongings, including the amenity kits, menus, in-flight magazine, entertainment guide, etc. At this point the wonderful male FA brought the same Lindt chocolates around to the passengers that I had gifted to the crew. I took one, and within a few more minutes he came to my seat saying he did not realize that I had gifted them to the crew, apologizing profusely. A few minutes later the lead FA came by thanking us for the chocolate, saying it was not often that they received gifts from passengers. As we began our initial descent some of the late risers were waking up, and were still offered breakfast service. Shortly thereafter some candies were passed out with “Air New Zealand” wrappers.

With about 15 minutes left in-flight we could see some lights outside, despite it being pitch dark. The captain also came on the PA thanking us for choosing Air New Zealand and saying that we would land shortly, at which point the seatbelt sign was turned on. We made a very smooth landing into AKL, touching down at 6:19AM. After a short taxi we arrived at the gate right next to the 777 that left LAX just around 30 minutes before us.

Now, I think it's fair to say that my report has been incredibly favorable towards NZ in all regards, minus the dinner service. Just to be fair I wanted to provide some of the negatives: The controls, which were on the left side of the seat, were incredibly easy to touch by mistake. Throughout the flight I must have pushed the table button at least five times, prompting it to come out. Just sitting against the left side of the seat caused the controls to switch. Furthermore, while I found the seat to be incredibly comfortable, I can imagine that the seat would be EXTREMELY claustrophobic or uncomfortable for a person of size. Another major issue which I noticed among all my NZ flights, or many foreign carriers, for that matter, is that individual air nozzles just don’t exist, which can make a flight extremely uncomfortable. Lastly, the PTV controls were somewhat cumbersome. Nonetheless, I have to say that I was incredibly impressed, and would select it any day over UA international F or any C product I have tried to date. I definitely enjoyed my flight immensely!

lucky9876coins

At AKL:

We finally retrieved all of our carry-ons and bid farewell to our FA's and headed to door 2L, where the Y passengers were being held back. I can't understand why the US airlines don't do this. It seems to make perfect sense to me, especially when immigration is involved. We took the long walk towards immigration, although we had a good view of the relatively nice terminal. By around 6:30AM we were in the immigration line, which was a short five-minute wait. The agent was not particularly friendly or welcoming, and asked quite a few questions. He marked our forms with a "T" in red marker, so I assume that put us in for extra screening.

We then headed to baggage claim, where our bags took quite a while to show up. At around 6:50AM we spotted our bags and headed straight through customs. We were told to follow the yellow line, which lead us to extra screening. It was painless and only required us to place our bags on the belt.

Once done with that we headed into the landside terminal and walked outside for some fresh air for a bit. It was still dark outside, but the temperature was very refreshing after such a long flight. I couldn’t help but notice the incredibly polluted smell outside, although that is generally typical for airports, even though there were not many cars.

Shortly thereafter we went back into the international terminal to the domestic transfer desk for our BP’s for the flight to ZQN. Since we didn't want to drag our checked baggage all the way to the domestic terminal we managed to check it in here. After a couple of minutes of waiting, it was our turn, and our bags weighed in at 59.9kg, with a maximum of 60kg! Minutes later we had our boarding passes, which were more like movie theatre tickets, and were directed to the domestic terminal via the white bus.

After sitting in the bus for about ten minutes without a driver he finally showed up and we were on our way. At this time it was around 7:30AM and we were in the domestic terminal after a five minute ride. The terminal itself was rather ugly, as were the interiors. We took a right turn towards security since our flight was leaving from Gate 30. Unlike the TSA, these agents were all friendly, said "please” and “thank you," to my surprise did not ask for an ID, and did not require us to take off our shoes, coats, or belts! Absolutely a painless procedure, maybe even pleasant!

We then took a left turn towards the Koru Lounge, which was located one level up. The Koru Lounge was absolutely fantastic, which I was not expecting for a domestic lounge! We were allowed in immediately and I was floored by the sheer size of the lounge. We got a sitting area near the window and decided to go for another light breakfast. The food spread was absolutely fantastic: all kinds of croissants, breads, spreads, cheese, meat, as well as cereal, incredible muesli, and more. It even had a coffee bar where they had made-to-order coffee. I went with a cappuccino and biscoff, which was the best I have ever had. Furthermore, they had an incredible selection of beverages.

I then headed down to the front of the lounge where there was a business center with several computers. I checked my email and surfed the web for a bit, until leaving at around 9:20AM. On my way out I noticed that the food spread had changed, which was once again incredible! They now had sandwiches, muffins, salads, etc. Between LAX and this lounge I am VERY fond of the Air New Zealand lounges.

At 9:20AM we headed to Gate 30, since our flight was boarding at 9:40AM. I watched as one of the NZ employees was cleaning the outside glass of the cockpit, which I have never seen in the US. At that point they started boarding rows 12-23, which included us. Fortunately I had an exit row seat so had no seat in front of me, which was great. I walked down the jetway and entered my first NZ 737...

Monday, May 28
NZ639
AKL-ZQN
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Seat: 12F
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:00AM
Actual Departure Time: 9:58AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 11:50AM
Actual Arrival Time: 11:59AM
Load: 70%

Immediately upon boarding I was impressed by the immaculate condition of the aircraft, despite it being all coach. I quickly found 12F and stored our carry-ons in the overhead bin. Within less than 15 minutes the plane was loaded and the captain announced that our flight would be longer than usual due to strong southerly winds. Our flight to ZQN would be 1hr35min and we would be cruising at FL340. Fortunately our aisle seat was open, so my mom took the aisle and we had an empty middle seat.

The safety video started right as the door closed, and as it finished up we pushed back. We quickly taxied to the runway and took off midfield at the 2500 meter marker. We had a swift takeoff, and less than five minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off. While I was definitely not hungry or thirsty I took a look at the buy onboard menu out of curiosity, since they charged for everything except water, coffee, or tea, this being an Express Service flight. I was feeling somewhat tired at this point, not due to lack of sleep, but just due to lack of movement and boredom. I dozed off for a bit, and woke up around 30 minutes before landing.

The views at this point were absolutely breathtaking! We were quickly approaching Mount Cook and there were an incredible number of tall, snow-covered mountains. We then began our descent and within another 20 minutes were on final approach in what would be the most amazing approach I have ever experienced! We first descended between the mountains, then circled around a tall hill and down into the valley. It's hard to verbalize, so the pictures will have to do here. On short final I saw all kinds of Cessna's at the airport without any other jets, so I could tell that the landing was very "forced," likely due to the length of the runway. We had a very sharp stop with the help of thrusters, spoilers, and brakes. We back taxied the runway and parked right in front of the terminal. We disembarked down the stairs and quickly descended into the terminal on what was a crisp day, around 11 degrees Celsius.

At ZQN:

I could tell that Queenstown was an incredibly scenic place, with the tall mountains in the background. The terminal was very small but nonetheless very modern and with nice shops. We headed over to baggage claim, where the belt began immediately. For once the Star Priority tags did work (take note, United!) and our bags were the first two out! We walked outside the terminal and to the taxi stand, where we immediately got into the first cab. The cab driver was very nice and gave us some information on Queenstown, and within 15 minutes we were at the Crowne Plaza Queenstown on Beach Street.

Crowne Plaza Queenstown review I wrote from IC forum:
Day One:

After taking the opportunity to freshen up we decided to hit the town for a bit. Since it was the first day we took it pretty easy. We just walked all around the relatively small town, seeing as much as we could. The day was very nice, probably because there were no winds. It seemed like there was not all that much to do, but the scenery was nonetheless breathtaking. We walked up towards the skyline. The day just felt totally surreal, since Queenstown is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been!

We headed to The Cow, which was recommended to us by the cab driver for what we thought was dinner, although it was only around 3:30PM. It was a very interesting restaurant: it only had about five tables, a fire place, and was pretty much completely made of wood. We shared a veggie pizza, and then headed to the hotel at around 4:30PM, as the sun began to set. We sat on the balcony watching the sun set behind the mountains, and it was simply the most amazing sight! (THAT PICTURE IS WHY YOU MUST GO TO QUEENSTOWN!) The sun sets especially early in Queenstown largely due to the mountains which block the sun a lot of the day. I did some catching up on my trip report, and went to bed early, at around 7PM, anticipating a full day ahead.

Day Two:

I woke up at around 6AM and turned on the TV. Since the sun only rises at around 8AM and the restaurant only opens at 7AM, I watched a few sitcoms, including an episode of The Simpsons and King of the Hill. Unlike yesterday it was not such a nice day. It was windy and cold outside. At 7AM we headed to threesixty, and as stated in my hotel review, had a fantastic breakfast. Since it was still cold and only around 8AM I worked on my trip report for a few hours and was almost current at around 11AM. We were also trying to decide what to do and had trouble choosing whether or not to rent a car and go to Milford Sound. Milford Sound seemed cool, but was a ten-hour drive roundtrip, something we didn’t want to do.

Instead we walked through the town, did some sightseeing, and at around 1PM decided to take a bus to Arrowtown, which is a small town around 45 minutes away. This is apparently one of the areas where Lord of the Rings was filmed, so was obviously incredibly scenic. Fortunately the weather had gotten better, and it was now around 15 degrees Celsius without any wind, which was pleasant. We went for lunch to a local restaurant and had a Moroccan salad and some dessert, which was very good. It began to rain lightly, so after exploring the small town headed back at around 3PM. The bus took us right by the airport and there was a small rainbow where we could see both the beginning and the end. It was another incredible moment, especially with the huge mountains in the background.

As we headed back to town we decided to walk around a bit longer, and eventually headed back to the hotel at around 5PM. After freshening up we decided to go back to the same restaurant as the night before, namely The Cow. Dinner was once again fantastic, and we headed back to the hotel. While this is most certainly a tourist trap, it's a good one for once!

Day Three:

We started the day once again at threesixty for breakfast, and it was once again fantastic. Today was turning out to be a beautiful day, unlike yesterday, which was much colder and windier. We decided to take the skyline up for some magnificent views of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the surrounding mountains. Now, I must admit, although I am a pilot myself and am not at all scared of heights, I hate taking gondolas, or whatever you want to call them, up mountains. It really scares the hell out of me! Either way, it was well worth it. The views from up there were simply amazing, and there couldn’t have been a clearer day, not to mention the temperature was so nice up there, much warmer than down below!

Like I said earlier, Queenstown must be one of the most beautiful places on earth! As you can see in the pictures, it’s simply breathtaking. We did plenty of walking around the top of the mountain, and watched some people paraglide and bungy jump from the side of the mountain to the city below. We stayed up there until around 1PM, and it was truly an amazing morning.

When we got down there we decided to once again stroll the town, which is all that there really is to do in Queenstown, and headed back to the hotel early to start packing. Later in the afternoon we once again headed out and had dinner at a sports bar type restaurant in front of the fireplace, which was awesome since it cooled down a lot. When we got back to the hotel we arranged for transportation in the morning, and managed to get the Suppershuttle at 8AM for $15 for both of us, as opposed to the $40 we paid on the way out. I then worked on the trip report for a bit, and went to bed early.

Day Four:

I woke up at around 7:30AM for our shuttle. The first thing we saw was an amazing sunrise. We finished packing up the last minute things and checked out. The shuttle was there a few minutes early, and it was just us and one other person. On the ride there I reflected on how much I really enjoyed Queenstown. It was an amazing town with amazing views, although it was surprisingly expensive for such a small town. We got lucky in a sense, since we visited it when it was still tourist free, before it would be bustling with skiers in a mere two weeks or so. Queenstown was an awesome start to an awesome vacation, and a place I would certainly love to return to. While it was certainly not recommended at large on FT or by anyone else I have talked to, I can’t help but thank Priority Club for having a property there, which is the reason that we went there! We got to the airport at around 8:05AM, and promptly headed to check-in.

At ZQN:

We arrived in a completely deserted check-in area and promptly headed to Star Gold and Business check-in. There was no line and I asked how the agent was doing as we approached, and he said he “could be better.” I handed him my Star Gold card and he asked where we were going. I responded “Christchurch” and he said that the early morning flight had been cancelled, so we would have to be rebooked. I told him we were not on the early morning flight, so that would not be an issue, and he printed our boarding passes within a minute. He tagged our bags with a priority tag and wrote down the code to the Koru Lounge for us, since this one apparently has no agents in the lounge.

ZQN is just a wonderful, small airport. It is modern and just has a great feel to it. We headed right and towards the elevator, which was marked with “Koru Lounge.” A short ride in an incredibly smelly elevator later we were at the door of the lounge. I entered the four-digit code and the door opened at around 8:20AM. The lounge was completely empty, but I was extremely impressed. It was actually surprisingly large for a “remote access” lounge, and had a selection of drinks, cookies, snacks, breads, jams, mints, etc. It also had four computers, which was a great opportunity to check my email and do some FT’ing. I had some breakfast, since I didn’t have anything before, and enjoyed a coffee, juice, and some danishes. I was extremely impressed by the lounge so we stayed there until around 9:40AM. When we left there were a few more people, including a German who was yapping on his cell phone to his girlfriend that he broke up with, which was pretty funny to listen to since he probably thought we didn't speak his language.

We headed towards security, where there was absolutely no line. Again no ID’s were checked, not even BP’s, and the process was friendly, quick, and easy. We sat down in the isolated gate area with only about five other people. Considering that there would be both a QF and NZ flight to CHC at around the same time, I was expecting this flight to be totally empty.

At around 8:50AM a QF 737 landed, and around ten minutes later our NZ 737 landed. Its 60 passengers disembarked, and boarding began shortly thereafter. This time they started boarding rows 11-23 (instead of 12-23) first. We boarded at around 10:20AM, and took the walk across the cold, wet tarmac.

Thursday, May 31
NZ518
ZQN-CHC
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Seat: 1A
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:20AM
Actual Departure Time: 10:32AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 11:05AM
Actual Arrival Time: 11:23AM
Load: 90%

Upon boarding 1C was already occupied, so we filled in 1A and 1B. I mused out the window one last time at the wonderful scenery of Queenstown’s surroundings. At around 10:27AM the door closed, and after watching the safety video we pushed back at around 10:35AM. Much to my surprise the flight had almost totally filled up, despite a deserted gate area before the flight.

We back-taxied runway 23 and after an incredibly powerful takeoff were airborne by 10:42AM. We had a relatively bumpy climb due to the bad weather and I just gazed out the window for the whole flight. Since this flight was just over 30 minutes the FA’s came around with water and asked anyone if they wanted to buy anything, instead of bringing the cart around. The scenery was amazing enroute, and quickly changed from mountainous to relatively flat farmland. Just before before final approach to CHC they brought some candy around and we made a very forced touchdown at around 11:15AM. We managed to take up the whole runway for landing, so I assume that the Emirates A340-500 lands on the perpendicular runway.

We had a quick taxi to the gate and arrived around 20 minutes late.

At CHC:

Upon arrival, this time at a jetway, we quickly walked towards the baggage claim. My first impression of the airport was very indifferent… it was nothing awesome, but wasn’t terrible either. The baggage claim area was incredibly run down, and unlike last time in ZQN where the Star Priority tags caused us to get our bags almost immediately, it took a good ten minutes this time. While most Priority bags came out almost immediately, I guess ours were just not loaded in the right area. We headed outside and instead of taking a cab took a shuttle that a guy was offering for $10NZD to our hotel. It seemed like a good deal, especially since the Crowne Plaza was the first stop, and we were on our way to Christchurch.

Crowne Plaza Christchurch review I wrote from IC forum:
Day Four Continued:

By around 12:30PM we were on the streets of Christchurch. As bad as it may sound, both of our first reactions were “OK… so what?” After coming from a place as nice as Queenstown, this seemed just like any other medium sized city. I have heard so many great things about Christchurch, so I was sure we had just not discovered what really needed to be seen.

We walked towards the city center and had a sandwich for lunch. We immediately noticed that Christchurch was considerably cheaper than Queenstown, which surprised us, since there were essentially no tourists in Queenstown at the time, though that was obviously going to change shortly.

We then bought a two-day pass for the town trolley for $12.50NZD, and took it for a round, which was around 25 minutes. The second time around we decided to get off near the Botanic Gardens, which were apparently among the top ten in the world. It certainly was nice, although I am no garden enthusiast. We walked by the river, which was definitely one of the nicest features of the city. We then just walked through the town for the rest of the afternoon, and at around 5PM headed back to the hotel. While Christchurch seemed nicer than when we arrived, I still didn’t see “it.”

Day Five:

We woke up and started with breakfast in the club lounge. We decided that we wanted to visit the International Antarctic Center, which was fascinating. We headed towards Cathedral Square, which is where The Penguin Express departed from. We boarded The Penguin Express at 10AM and got to the Antarctic Center by 10:20AM, just in time for the 10:30AM penguin feeding. They were all baby penguins, but it was nonetheless extremely interesting. After that we took a ride on the “Hagglund,” which is the rover type that they use in Antarctica. It was a 15-minute ride, and was a bit like an obstacle course. The vehicle drove up a 40-degree incline, through three-meter deep water, and through all kinds of sharp turns. It was a very cool ride.

After that we went through the rest of the exhibition, which was very interesting, including a simulated windstorm of 60kts at –25 degrees Celsius!

We left the exhibition at around 1:30PM and headed back to Cathedral Square. It was on the ride back that I really started to appreciate Christchurch. It’s a medium sized city, but at the same time has a lot of charm. It has a winding river through the city, is extremely clean, and has a bunch of quaint little buildings and street cafes.

There was some live entertainment in Cathedral Square, so we decided to settle down for lunch. We had a “comet bagel,” which was ridiculously expensive! We sat there for about an hour, and then continued wandering the city. We went to the visitors center and they highly recommended the TranzAlpine train, which goes up to Greymouth. It is apparently one of the ten most scenic train rides in the world. Unfortunately it was sold out for tomorrow, which was our last full day in Christchurch, so we decided we would just head to the train station in the morning hoping for some cancellations.

Day Six:

We woke up early and had breakfast in the club lounge at 6:30AM. By 7AM we were downstairs at the concierge, who was going to try calling one more time to get us tickets. He could not get through to them, so we just decided to take the shuttle to the train station and hope for the best. We were a bit worried because we doubted that they actually checked to see if there were empty seats, but would rather call it full for simplicity.

The bus arrived at 7:15AM, and as we boarded the concierge ran outside telling us that he got through to them and they still had open seats, which was a huge relief, since we really wanted to do this. They had a winter special where it was only $109 roundtrip p.p.

We got to the train station by around 7:40AM and received our tickets within minutes. The railway station was bustling, and we almost had trouble getting around. By 9:45 we were in cart Q and had some comfortable seats. We left at 8:15AM, and unfortunately the weather wasn’t looking good. To our surprise there were still dozens of open seats on the train, and actually the seats across from us were empty! Altogether it was a 4.5 hour journey which would get us to Greymouth by means of Arthur’s Pass.

Fortunately as our ride continued the weather cleared up a bit for a while so I tried to take as many pictures of the incredibly scenic areas as possible. Unfortunately the nice weather didn’t last for long, and it began raining, which continued all the way to Greymouth.

Upon arrival in Greymouth we only had around an hour till departure, so walked around as much as possible, although I can’t say that it was incredibly interesting. Unfortunately the terrible weather continued on the way back, and we got back at around 5:30PM, a good 35 minutes early! Someone wanted to get home!

Here are a few more pictures of the scenery.

While the weather definitely hindered any great viewing I can nonetheless see why this is one of the most scenic rides in the world, and would recommend it to anyone else who has the opportunity. I wish the weather would have been nicer, but I nonetheless enjoyed the landscape. Instead of just seeing the cities in New Zealand we really saw some of the incredible countryside, and lots of sheep too!

Day Seven:

We slept in, ate breakfast, repacked all our stuff, and were in the lobby by 11AM for check-out. Although our flight was only at 2:50PM we decided to head to the airport somewhat early, especially because there was a marathon in town, which was blocking some of the streets. We watched the marathon for a bit and I went back into the lobby to work on my trip report. I have to say that I was really starting to appreciate Christchurch. While Queenstown is beautiful, and to be honest I would return there as a tourist any day over Christchurch, I would never want to live there. Christchurch, on the other hand, has 360,000 people, is a nice sized city, and can nonetheless maintain its charm. It really is an awesome city and definitely grew on me since my arrival.

We took the SuperShuttle to the airport and were there by 12:30PM.

At CHC:

We headed to the Star Gold/Air Points Gold check-in and had about a five-minute wait. After a few minutes we realized that the regular line had an even shorter wait, but decided to just wait the few extra seconds since we had a lot of luggage. We got to the counter and the agent could not find our flight. I was worried for a second that we showed up to the airport on the wrong day, but I showed her the itinerary and she said she was just having one of “those” days, which I can totally understand. Surprisingly she asked my mom for ID, which they have not done at any other NZ airport so far, but didn’t ask me.

Within around five minutes we were checked in and headed up the escalator, where we thought the Koru Lounge was located. As we walked up we saw the Emirates A340-500 taxiing by, which was an incredible sight at an airport which is otherwise populated by mostly 737’s and props. We searched for the Koru Lounge for a good five minutes but couldn’t find it. I did notice a viewing deck where we could go outside, but it was a bit too chilly for that at the moment. I asked an agent where the Koru Lounge was, and we had gone the wrong way. We went back down the escalator, and up the next one, which was located after security.

We got there by around 12:45PM, leaving time for lunch in the lounge. Once again we were promptly admitted to the lounge, and I was once again impressed by the Koru Lounge. They are as a whole the best lounges that I know of, even better than the Singapore Silver Kris Lounges.

This club seemed to have a beach club theme of sorts. There were some wicker chairs and wood tables, and it had nice little nooks so felt very private. The lunch selection today was absolutely fantastic, as good as any restaurant buffet that I know of. They had hot dogs, stuffed potatoes, delicious vegetable pastries, soup, a variety of cheeses and rolls, some amazing cake, etc., and plenty of drinks. I settled down for lunch. The views of the tarmac were great, and I also saw a Qantas 767 taxiing in, which was the largest I had seen since the A340.

After that I surfed Flyertalk a bit on their computers, which are fantastic, and at around 2:35PM we were at gate 17, where our aircraft was departing from. By the time we got there everyone was already aboard, and we immediately proceeded down the jetway and into row one.

Sunday, June 3
NZ456
CHC-WLG
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Seat: 1A
Scheduled Departure Time: 2:50PM
Actual Departure Time: 2:46PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 3:35PM
Actual Arrival Time: 3:35PM
Load: 40%

Much to my surprise the flight was extremely empty today, so overhead storage wasn’t an issue. Since 1C remained empty we managed to snag an empty middle seat, which is a lot more comfortable in a relatively tight configuration like NZ has domestically. The purser was not very friendly, and seemed to have a grudge against us (or at least my mom) for some reason, since she was particularly rude to us compared to the other passengers. The door closed a few minutes early and the safety video began shortly, although the purser seemed to have some technical issues with it for a few minutes. We quickly taxied to the runway and were airborne by around 2:55PM. I swear the captain turned the seatbelt sign off within three minutes of takeoff, and it seemed like it wasn’t even 10,000 feet!

This was once again a very short flight so cabin service quickly began with the buy on board cart in front, and a much nicer FA with water shortly behind her. We cruised to a final altitude of 27,000 feet, and quickly began our descent into WLG. The friendly FA then came through with some of the NZ sweets again, which are always nice before landing. We began our smooth descent as we approached the North Island, and had a beautiful approach. The purser made sure my camera was in the overhead, so I couldn’t take any pictures, unfortunately.

After a once again very forced landing we quickly taxied to the gate, where Jeff (jswong) generously offered to wait at the gate to take us to the hotel, and later invited us to dinner.

At WLG:

This airport was much nicer than CHC and had a very modern feel to it. We quickly proceeded down to baggage claim as jswong explained how cold the weather was, although it was quite pleasant by our standards after Queenstown and Christchurch. Our bags quickly showed up, although one of the bags was slightly damaged with the rubber off the track, but we managed to fix it. We headed up a level to the parking area and loaded our luggage in jswong’s car.

Day Seven Continued:

As we drove, jswong educated us on Wellington, New Zealand, and everything else important in this part of the world. Before bringing us to our hotel he took us up to the Wind Turbine, which affords some amazing views of Wellington. As we took the winding roads up, the weather looked like it was going to hold out for just a bit more, but the second we got up there it started pouring. We nonetheless jolted out of the car in hopes of taking some good pictures, but visibility literally shrunk to zero. So much for our luck!

We got to the hotel by around 4:30PM and quickly checked in.

Intercontinental Wellington review I wrote from IC forum:
Day Seven Continued:

It was a cold evening and since the sun sets early here in New Zealand this time of year, it was very cold outside. As a result we decided to hang around the hotel for a while before heading to Logan Brown for dinner with jswong at 8PM.

After enjoying the appetizers at the hotel we headed over to jswong’s place at around 7:45PM, which is only a few blocks from the hotel. He has a great apartment in a great city, and we then headed to Logan Brown. As jswong explained, the restaurant used to be a bank, which is evident from its design. Our table was not ready, I believe, so we sat in the bar area for a while talking miles, points, travels, and whatnot. Whatever it was, jswong definitely did Flyertalk justice in front of my mother, and now she likes the site more!^

Around 15 minutes later we were seated and had a fantastic dinner which lasted until around 11PM! Both my mom and I enjoyed jswong’s company, hospitality, and insight, and then headed back home in the somewhat cool evening.

Day Eight:

We were planning on doing one of those overpriced city tours, but unfortunately overslept and only woke up at around 10AM. Fortunately, since it was a holiday, the club level was serving breakfast until 11AM, which was a huge relief. This really adjusted our times from getting up early and going to bed early to the opposite, which was probably a good thing.

After breakfast we headed towards the Wellington Cable Car, which provided some stunning views of Wellington. Despite Wellington having a relatively small population, it nonetheless has a big city feel. Maybe it’s because of the skyscrapers or that it’s not quite as clean as Christchurch, but I really loved the city. From the top we went to the Botanic Gardens, where we didn’t stay for long since we are not, erm, tree enthusiasts.

We then took the cable car back down and headed to Te Papa, which is the national museum of New Zealand. It turned into a nice day, and it was a pleasant ten-minute walk. The museum is free, and we browsed through the various levels. We stayed for about 45 minutes, I guess mostly because we weren’t in much of a museum mindset. After that we walked along the harbor, which was beautiful, and sat down there for a bit.

We then headed to the hotel for afternoon tea, which was quite good, and then back out to just wander along the streets for a bit. Unfortunately it was almost getting dark, which didn’t leave much time to do stuff in Wellington.

We met jswong in the club lounge for some drinks at around 5:30PM, and then we headed to dinner at around 6:15PM. We went to an excellent Asian fusion restaurant called CHOW, where we had plenty of little dishes, including spring rolls, satay, etc. By total coincidence, Monday’s is buy one get one free, so even more ^!

We got back and headed to bed at a reasonable hour because our flight was in the morning. We had arranged for the hotel car to the airport for 8AM, which actually turned out to be the same price as a cab, if not cheaper.

Day Nine:

We woke up at 6:30AM, had breakfast in the club lounge, and at around 7:50AM were on our way to the airport on a very nice day.

At WLG:

We got to WLG at around 8:15AM, and it is indeed a very nice airport. We went to the Koru Club Gold check-in area where there was one person in front of us. We were promptly waved over to another counter where there was no wait, and were quickly checked in. Again, I was not asked for ID after presenting my Star Gold card, but my mom was. Does anyone know the reason for this?

We went up the escalator and got to the landside Koru Lounge at around 8:30AM, which was once again very nice, although quite full. As I have come to expect from Koru Lounges it had a fantastic breakfast spread! It also had an awesome view of the hilly city surroundings, the airplanes, and the runway! I got the wireless internet username and password for the lounge, which was quite interesting (hint: the username was an aircraft in the NZ fleet, and the password was a slightly modified aircraft in the NZ fleet). I spent a little over an hour checking email, chatting with friends, and browsing FT, as always.

At around 9:30AM we headed to gate 17 since security was located at each gate. I immediately noticed that there were only a handful of people in the “secure” area, which surprised me. It seems like New Zealanders check in extremely late for their flights!

Tuesday, June 5
NZ418
WLG-AKL
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Seat: 1B
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:00AM
Actual Departure Time: 9:56AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 11:00AM
Actual Arrival Time: 10:55AM
Load: 98%

We boarded at around 9:45AM and the plane was almost totally full, including a businessman in the seat next to me. Before the door closed the captain came on announcing we would be cruising at 37,000 feet and the flight time would be 50 minutes. We pushed back on-time and had a very rushed safety video as we made a quick taxi to the runway. Right as the safety video ended we took the active runway and had a powerful takeoff and a bumpy climb. I am not sure if the plane automatically turns the seatbelt sign off as we pass 10,00 feet, but in this case it was turned off around there and after another ten or so seconds was turned back on, which I found a bit strange.

I browsed KiaOra, which is NZ’s in-flight magazine, and saw some interesting articles. One of the most interesting things I saw was that they were interviewing the CEO of some clothing company about travel and he mentioned that his favorite restaurant was Logan Brown, which is where we were just two nights earlier.

Water and buy on board service quickly commenced, and I just took a water. After an uneventful flight we started our descent into AKL and landed around five minutes early. It was extremely uneventful and there were very few planes at AKL, notably only an NZ747 and KE777.

At AKL:

We arrived into the somewhat disgusting domestic terminal a few minutes early and our luggage arrived within a few seconds. Gotta love priority tags that actually work! We asked at information how much a cab would be, and they informed us $70NZD, so we took a shuttle instead, which cost us $32NZD total, a much better deal. After a ride of around 40 minutes we arrived at our hotel in Auckland.

Crowne Plaza Auckland review I wrote from IC forum:
Day Nine Continued:

Besides the absolutely TERRIBLE experience with the hotel (see review above), we had a great day in Auckland. The weather was nice so we decided to start our stay by just walking almost aimlessly around the city to see where it leads us. We walked towards the harbor which is where the Hilton is located, which apparently looks like a ship, or something. Since I have heard so much about this hotel I decided to check it out, and have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. The middle of the hotel was basically a big parking lot, as you can see in the pictures, so the public areas did not seem that great for the high price they were asking. Nonetheless I am sure the rooms are fantastic!

We essentially crisscrossed the somewhat central part of the city, and then headed back to the hotel, since I was going to meet KiwiFlyer for dinner. Kiwi Flyer gave me directions via the bus, which seemed simple enough, so I decided to walk since it was such a nice day. I was close to where I thought I had to be around 30 minutes early, so thought I was in good shape. As it turns out walking uphill for over a mile isn’t “around the corner.” I eventually made it and we settled in for dinner, which was great. I enjoyed hearing Kiwi Flyer’s stories, insight on the industry, New Zealand, etc. At around 9:15PM we headed to the bus station as it started to pour, and I got back to the hotel by 9:30PM.

Day Ten:

We got up at around 9AM and stopped somewhere for breakfast on our way towards the water. We decided to take a ferry to Devonport, which is an island around ten minutes from Auckland. We got there at around 11AM, just missing the ferry that left on the hour, so the next one was at 11:30AM. We walked around for a bit, and I saw the weirdest looking ship I have ever seen! Maybe someone knows what it is, but it sure mystified me for a bit.

The ferry left at 11:30AM and quickly arrived in Devonport, which was beautiful. It was a quaint little town with lots of shops and street cafes. We walked uphill towards Mount Victoria, which is the highest point of the island and boasts great views of Auckland. After marching uphill for around 15 minutes we made it up, and the views were definitely worth it, as you can see from the pictures!

After that we headed back down and just walked through town. Unfortunately it started to rain shortly, so we headed back to the ferry terminal to go back to Auckland.

We got back by 2PM and took the free red bus around town, just seeing what there was to see. We got off around the University of Auckland, and walked downhill from there. I was once again amazed by the size of the Asian population and culture in Auckland. I thought I was in Seoul or Tokyo!

By around 5PM we got back to the hotel and headed to an adjacent restaurant, Little Italy. It was a very nice little place, and we enjoyed the food greatly, although it was expensive by our standards. We headed to the hotel bar, Aria, which was pathetic (see hotel review).

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Day Eleven:

I woke up at around 8:30AM, took a shower, packed up, and at 10:20AM we were downstairs for check-out. While our flight was only at 4PM, we really wanted to get away from the hotel, and I had not checked FT or my email for a few days, not to mention we were hungry, so the lounge can't be beat. We had arranged for a shuttle at 11AM but there happened to be one at 10:30AM, so we took that one instead, which was perfect!^

The driver was very friendly and we were sitting behind some Germans who had just completed a seven week tour of New Zealand and Australia, which would be too long for me! On the ride I reflected on our time in New Zealand, which I enjoyed greatly! I have to say that Auckland was a bit of a disappointment though compared to the other cities. We got to the airport at around 11:10AM and I took a couple of pictures of the outside.

At AKL:

The international terminal is much more impressive than the domestic terminal. We searched for the Business Class check-in, but had trouble finding it. As it turns out, they have a special check-in area for Star Golds, Koru Club Golds, and Business passengers. It was located behind a sliding door and reminded me a bit of the entrance to the First Class Terminal of Lufthansa in Frankfurt (YES, I said a little). There was only one check-in lady there, and it had several stations as well as some seating.

She checked us in immediately, although she wasn’t especially friendly. We paid our departure tax of $25NZD per person and sat down to fill out our departure form. Once it was done there is a dedicated immigration officer, which means no wait whatsoever! That took us to an escalator, which brought us up one level to the security area. Fortunately this also had a dedicated security line, which means no wait. At that point we were dumped into the international terminal, which had a ton of duty free shops. It was once again very nice!

We walked towards the Air New Zealand International Lounge (Yes, I learned that Air New Zealand domestic lounges are called Koru Lounges while the Air New Zealand lounges internationally are appropriately called the “Air New Zealand International Lounge.”). On our way up we passed the Emirates lounge on the first floor, and escalator upstairs dumped us in front of the Qantas club. Immediately across from the Qantas club was the Air New Zealand lounge, which once again had a very tropical entrance.

We were immediately admitted and entered a relatively deserted lounge at around 11:30AM. I immediately noticed that the food selection was not as good as that in the domestic lounges, much to my surprise. We grabbed a seat on a couch and got some food, since we were starving. After lunch I headed to their computers, which are located in the back of the lounge. On the way I noticed that they also had a special “no cell phone” area with comfortable seats, which I would later try, as well as three stations with Play Station Portables.

This time the computers were not in the open but were all like small offices with closing doors. After I checked my email and PM on FT, we headed over to the comfortable no cell phone area, which also had a good view of the tarmac and runway. Most of it was occupied by four men who thought they owned the area. My mom tried to take a nap in the comfortable seat and I used the wireless in the lounge and got a US adapter from the lounge attendant so that I could charge my laptop. No, I hate to be a party spoiler for those four guys, but one guy was playing cell phone ringtones and I gave him a pretty dirty look. He got the idea and took a call outside the area, fortunately. I had a cappuccino, which was fantastic as always at these NZ lounges.

We left the lounge at around 3PM since we got pretty bored and browsed the duty free selection, which was all ridiculously overpriced.

We took the escalator down to gates five and seven, and on the way heard several boarding announcements which I LOVED! When any flight has a final boarding call they go “Mr. XYZ, this is your final boarding call for flight ABC to Melbourne. Please proceed to gate seven immediately. The whole plane is waiting for YOU!” Whenever I heard this announcement I could hear several chuckles throughout the terminal! Gotta love how embarrassing that is, especially for the self-important idiots that wait in the lounge until the very last second when their gate is ten minutes away.

We got to gate five at around 3:15PM. Boarding started for Business Class at around 3:20PM, and we were the only passengers at the time, since everyone else was still in the lounge. We handed the agent our boarding passes and passports, and were own our way down the glass jetway.

Thursday, June 7
NZ105
AKL-SYD
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300
Seat: 3A
Scheduled Departure Time: 4:00PM
Actual Departure Time: 3:55PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 5:30PM
Actual Arrival Time: 5:PM
Load: 100%C/60%Y

Upon entering we were immediately greeted by two FA’s, one of which immediately took my garment bag. As I walked into the cabin I quickly snapped some shots before anyone else was aboard, both of the business cabin as well as coach cabin, and also of our seats. As I reached my seat and stored our luggage in the overhead bin the FA quickly took my coat and less than a minute later offered us pre-departure beverages of either OJ, water, or champagne. I went with OJ and my mom went with water. NZ’s 767’s are in a 2-2-2 configuration with four rows, for a total of 24 seats.

I was quite impressed by the way the seats looked. They were a dark color and each had a nice striped green and white pillow. The pitch was quite generous for a regional configuration. The seat controls were located on the left side of the seat. As boarding continued and the Business Cabin began to fill up pre-departure service was in full swing. It seemed like there were at least four FA’s working the C cabin at the time, which was very impressive.

As boarding began to settle down a bit an FA came around with newspaper selections. Shortly thereafter dinner menus were distributed. Lastly, another FA came around explaining the individual television monitors, which are located in the seat consoles. They are not on demand, unfortunately, and are actually almost like UA’s international entertainment system. The movie selection for tonight’s flight was not all that interesting to me: Shooter (which was also being shown in the main cabin), Wild Hogs, The Number 23, The Factory Girl, [I]Platoon[/], and CSI: NY. I glanced out the window for a bit and noticed an Emirates A340-500, which is quite a majestic bird!

The door closed around five minutes early with a full C cabin, and the captain immediately came on the PA telling us about today’s flight. Due to very strong headwinds we would have a flight time of 3hr40min, which is ten minutes longer than our block time! We would be cruising at 38,000 feet and he said we should expect a bumpy ride due to so weather patterns. Shortly thereafter the Inflight Service Manager came on the PA introducing himself as well as the Inflight Service Coordinator (Wow, how many of these people do ya need on a regional flight like this? Anyone actually know that the difference in duties is between these two?) and asking us to pay attention to the safety video, which began shortly.

I always find it classy that they stand in the aisles on Air New Zealand during the safety video. Nothing annoys me more than flying with a US carrier and hearing: “Please put down all reading materials and cease all conversation for this very important safety video,” and then hearing the FA’s yapping so loudly in the galley that you can hardly here the video! This is very nice on NZ’s part!^

As the safety video finished we pushed back from gate five and held position for around five minutes. We were apparently waiting for a Qantas 747 to taxi to the gate next to us. As we began our taxi I immediately noticed two Emirates 777-300’s! This is basically an Emirates hub!

We quickly taxied to runway 23L and after a powerful takeoff were quickly airborne. We began a very steep climb and as we passed 10,000 feet the seatbelt sign went off and immediately turned back on. Announcements were made that the movies were now starting, and I went with Wild Hogs, which was a pretty decent movie for an airplane. They also announced the coach meal choices, which were lemon chicken or a steak pie, I believe. The FA started taking drink orders from the back of the cabin, and I went with a Diet Coke. In the meantime another FA came around with hot towels, which are fantastic with NZ!^ The Diet Coke was promptly delivered, along with a bag of Veggie Chips, which were actually delicious! A minute later tablecloths were distributed.

The dinner service began shortly thereafter, and the menu read as follows:

Dinner

Starter
Chicken and duck terrine with baby salad greens and gazpacho dressing

Main Course
Grilled New Zealand salmon steak with lemon barley and herb risotto, creamed white wine sauce and watercress
Roasted pork scotch with sage jus, apple and potato rosti and green beans
Antipasto platter of kassler ham, salami and chorizo sausage with marinated eggplant, mushroom, capsicum, Roma tomato and Mediterranean pesto

Dessert
Gourmet ice cream dessert of triple chocolate and gingernut ice cream

Cheese
Fine regional cheese and preserved fruit

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

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 Mariner
Bailey 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

The tray was shortly delivered, which consisted of the starter and some cheese, which I assume was the after dinner cheese. The FA also offered bread and water, both of which I accepted. The garlic bread was once again fantastic! The starter was also tasty, and it was quickly removed by the inflight service manager once I was finished. The three meal choices were then brought around on a tray, and I took the antipasto, since I was not particularly hungry and none of the other choices really appealed to me. My mom took the salmon, and much to my surprise the FA commented that this was the last one they had, even though they started meal service in the back. After service in our row I noticed that they skipped to row one… anyone know if that’s just random, or if they take meal choices by status? It surprised me a bit…

The main course was ok, but I did get some more garlic bread. After the main course the tray was cleared and dessert was brought out. Once again the ice cream was fantastic! A few minutes later coffee and tea were brought around, which I declined, but I did accept the delicious mints they offered!

The cabin lights were dimmed and the immigration forms were handed out, which I immediately completed. At this time my movie was wrapping up, and I spent most of the rest of the flight working on my trip report and watching airshow. Without reclining my seat I have to say that the footrest angle was very limited, so was not particularly comfortable. When reclining the seat the footrest reclines as well, which was more comfortable.

Throughout the rest of the flight drinks were constantly being refilled and the service was always with a smile, which was great! The cabin was extremely hot, and due to the lack of individual air nozzles, it actually became quite uncomfortable! We began our descent at around 5:30PM Sydney time, and the seatbelt sign was almost immediately turned on. It always surprises me that NZ turns the seatbelt sign off so quickly on climb, but always turns it on so quickly on descent. Also, as soon as they turn on the seatbelt sign, all electronics have to be switched off. I was surprised that it was already pitch dark outside, and already had been for an hour or so!

I quickly stored all of my luggage in the overhead again, and the coats were soon distributed, which is even earlier than they do at UA (if they remember to do it)! We flew right over downtown Sydney and I could see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, but we kept flying. We once again made a lower pass, I assume for a traffic pattern, and landed at around 5:55PM. We quite possibly had the slowest taxi I have ever experienced, which lasted for almost 15 minutes! Jeez, this airport is HUGE! We arrived at the gate around 6:10PM, and we were happy to be in Sydney!

At SYD:

We quickly began the immigration marathon, which was quite a walk! We got there at around 6:20PM, and were through by 6:23PM. The officer was very friendly, which was a welcomed change, so it was time to wait for luggage. It took around ten minutes to arrive, and by 6:35PM we were in the quarantine line waiting to put our bags through the belt, which seems to be standard for everyone. We were outside by 6:40PM and decided to take a shuttle to our hotel for $10AUD per person. We made it to the hotel by around 7:10PM, but that was not the end of the night.

Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour review I wrote from IC forum:
Day Eleven Continued:

After checking in we decided to walk towards the harbour, which we actually had quite some trouble finding. We must have walked at least 6km, which was great after the relatively lazy day. We eventually found the harbour and saw the Opera House, which was a surreal sight of sorts after seeing it in so many pictures! We sat down and had a drink there and headed back to the hotel, getting back my 10PM, which was really two hours later for us due to the time change. We would be getting up early the next morning to transfer to the Intercontinental.

Intercontinental Sydney review I wrote from IC forum:
Day Twelve:

We started the day with a wonderful breakfast on the club level. This property really is fantastic, and the views from the club level can’t be beat. Unfortunately the weather was absolutely terrible! It was pouring without end, and according to weather.com the winds were 40mph gusting 59mph! This means no sightseeing for us, unfortunately!

As a result I stayed in the lounge for a bit and used the computers. The computers have a view of the “Intercontinental” sign on the top of the building, which looked like it was about to fall off. I swear the club lounge sounded like a full 747 taking off, if you can picture that. At around noon we headed to the Opera House to try and get a tour of it, which is done hourly. Unfortunately the main symphony, or whatever it is called, currently had rehearsals, and was closed till 2:30PM. As a result we decided to book a tour for 3:30PM. The people at the information center at the Opera House were the rudest people I have had the displeasure of dealing with in a long time! I was shocked by their attitude! Wow is all I can say!

We stayed in the hotel more, and fortunately we had a great suite, so it was all very tolerable. We headed back over there, and had a fantastic tour of the Opera House by a very, erm, passionate guy. You could tell his life revolved around the place, and I swear he almost cried as he was telling the story of its history and all the ups and downs. The history was extremely interesting, as well as an explanation of the structure itself, and the inside was very impressive!

Here are some pictures of the tour.

Unfortunately when we left the winds were ridiculously strong, maybe the strongest I have ever experienced, and that’s coming from someone who lives in Florida, which has quite a few hurricanes. As a result we were confined to the hotel for the afternoon and had to order room service. The free minibar as an RA is a nice bennie in situations like this.

Day Thirteen:

We headed to breakfast early, and fortunately the weather was looking better than yesterday, which unfortunately still means light rain and strong winds. As a result we decided to take a city tour, and the concierge recommended the City Explorer, which has around 20ish stops throughout the city. We followed his directions and headed to their stop, and took a bus which we thought was it. Unfortunately this was actually the City Sightseeing Sydney, which was a bit more like a clown car. We only realized this after two hours or so when we had gotten off at the Aquarium and wanted to jump back on the bus! Gah!

After doing a tour around the city we decided to take the Bondi Bus, which is part of the same company and is free with that ticket, and goes to what are apparently the suburbs of Sydney and to the beach. As we started to take the bus it started pouring and there were some strong winds! The room was leaking, the whole inside was wet, and everything was rusty. It was in scary shape. As we drove by Fox Studios the bus had to make around the cul-de-sac, and there was a small truck there, so he couldn’t make the turn. I know it sounds bad on my part, but I don’t think I have ever laughed as hard. The driver was so incredibly uncoordinated in making the turn, just started honking the horn without end, and started just cussing out loud. It was pretty funny to watch as a passenger.

We finally got to Bondi Beach, and at this point it was raining like a waterfall and the winds were blowing like Paris… nevermind, very much so. At this point the bus driver announces that he wants to take a 25 minute lunch break so we could go outside and go shopping… in weather that was probably hurricane force.

So, off we go and sit at a McDonald’s for 25 minutes as the driver has lunch. We eventually got back to the hotel at around 3:30PM and were happy we had seen something. Our cab driver from the bus stop to the hotel mentioned that this is the worst weather he has seen in five years, so I guess that’s just our luck.

I arranged to meet my fellow nut-loving (yes, we are talking about United’s hot nuts, of course!) FT’er wimpypipsqueak for drinks, which we had at the club level of the hotel. It was great to hear his stories, especially the one about him getting stuck in Auckland for three days on a United flight! I tried to convince him to join us at the San Francisco Do in September, so here’s to hoping!^

I finished packing up and FT’ed for a bit back in the club lounge. For the first time since we arrived the weather was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the view of the night skyline!^ Sydney really is a fantastic city, much more interesting than Auckland, IMO. I hope to return one day when the weather is a bit nicer, I guess in summer. So much for “sunny” Sydney.

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Day Fourteen:

We woke up at 6:45AM and finished up packing. We were done by around 7:15AM, and headed to breakfast. The weather today was nice compared to the two previous days, but it was still raining, unfortunately. After breakfast I took a quick shower and we were downstairs by 8:20AM. We quickly checked out and by 8:30AM were in a cab on our way to the airport. After a 30 minute $40AUD ride we were at the airport in the international terminal.

At SYD:

This was my first time at SYD for a departure and I was quite impressed. No, it’s no HKG or SIN, but it’s a pretty nice and modern airport. We headed to the departures monitor to find our flight and where NZ is located, and saw that it was in the “J” area. We headed over there and got in the Business line. There were two people in front of us and a bunch of people being helped, although three agents were not helping passengers. It took around 15 minutes till our turn came, due in part to the fact that they were just closing boarding for the flight to CHC. They took a lot of the last minute passengers and served them at the Business desk, which I was fine with.

We were eventually helped by a very friendly agent, who indicated that the Korean passengers in front of us in line just didn’t “get it.” They got to check-in just at the cutoff and they were a group of 12! The lady checked us in quickly and gave us the departure card to fill out, which almost became routine at this point. She told us where the lounge was located and gave us all our BP’s, and off we were! Much to my surprise she said that are UA FF numbers were in there so we could get miles, and the BP’s actually had numbers next to “Airpoints” instead of “NIL,” so let’s see what happens. Anyone know if this is normal?

We passed all the duty free shops and went to customs, where there was no line whatsoever. The agent was very friendly and noticed that it was my mom’s birthday, and directed us to security. Security was also incredibly painless- no removing shoes, jewelry, metal things, etc… just the liquids. We were through the whole process in around 10 minutes, which put us inside by around 9:30AM. My mom decided to do some duty free browsing while I wanted to do some lounge hopping, so we agreed to meet at a certain point around there.

I headed to the UA RCC, where they seemed shocked to see me. There was only one other party of two in there, and I just took some pics. The food selection was incredibly limited, as was the drink selection. The lounge was surprisingly huge for an airline like UA in SYD, and just kept going with all these separating cutoffs. The lounge also has computers, which seems atypical for UA, even at international locations. I left within around three minutes for obvious reasons.

I then met up with my mom and we headed upstairs towards the Singapore Silver Kris Lounge and Air New Zealand International Business Lounge. Since the SKL was first in order, I decided to give them a try. I went inside and showed my NZ boarding pass, and the agent rudely said “You are flying Air New Zealand. This is the Singapore Airlines Lounge.” I responded, “Well, I know that, but I am in international business and *Gold, both of which entitle me to use this lounge.” She responded once again quite snippily, “We are undergoing renovation so we are even sending most of OUR passengers to the Air New Zealand lounge.” Jeez, sorry for asking!

We then headed to the Air New Zealand lounge, which is only a few feet away. I have heard great things about this lounge, so had high expectations. We entered and saw no agent. We just entered the lounge area, which is where there was an agent sitting at the desk, who quickly let us in. I was shocked by how huge this lounge was. It was probably the biggest single room lounge I have seen. It had very nice interiors and a decent selection of food and drinks. I have to say that I was expecting a bit more as far as the food goes, since the domestic Koru Lounge at AKL had a much better selection. Another thing which irked me a bit is that the computers were really really bad. I couldn’t really get them to work, and there was no wireless in the lounge. The food selection was limited mostly to toast, some cake, fruit, yogurt, etc. The views were great nonetheless. It had a great view of the runway, where we could see all the heavies taking off, as well as a fantastic view of the tarmac, where we were right above two SQ 747’s.

We got bored and at around 10:50AM headed towards gate 56, which is where we would be leaving from. Next to us they were boarding the LAN flight to AKL with continuing service to SCL. At around 11:05AM they started boarding Star Alliance Gold and Business Class passengers, so we were among the first dozen aboard.

Sunday, June 10
NZ704
SYD-AKL
Aircraft: Airbus 320
Seat: 2F
Scheduled Departure Time: 11:30AM
Actual Departure Time: 11:33AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 4:30PM
Actual Arrival Time: 4:35PM
Load: 100%C/80%Y

As we boarded the plane and showed our BP’s we were directed to our seats. I was immediately impressed by the immaculate condition of the cabin. The plane practically looked brand new, which may be the case. The Business Class section only had eight seats, most of which filled up within a few minutes. While the seats don’t have as much pitch as those on the 767, they are much more comfortable. They are fully padded, a comfortable leather, and even have legrests. I believe the pitch is 40 inches. Each seat has a pillow and blankets available on request. Within a minute of settling down our FA introduced himself to us and said he would be taking care of us, offering us drinks, which was a very nice touch. We both took water, which was promptly delivered. Once again there was pop-ish music playing on the PA, which always seems somewhat weird, but it was eventually switched to nature sounds, or whatever it was. Refills were offered, which we accepted.

By around 11:25AM the Captain came on the PA giving us the standard greeting, telling us that our flight time was 2hr45min and we would be cruising at 37,000 feet. He also said we would be closing our doors as soon as the last passenger arrived, and that we could expect a pretty bumpy ride. As we stood at the gate the safety video began, at the end of which our pushback began. We were just waiting for the United 747 to pull into the gate next to us, which looked absolutely massive from our perspective. At this point the FA came around asking for drink orders, and I went with a Diet Coke and my mom went with a Pinot Noir.

While the captain announced that it would be a short taxi to the runway, it had to be at least eight or so minutes to 16R. As we got there we taxied into position, held for around a minute, and off we were. We had a pretty bumpy climb, but the crew nonetheless began their service within a few minutes. There were a few announcements shortly after takeoff, including the coach meal choices, which were either a bacon sandwich or chicken pie, I believe. The first thing which was passed out were the portable DVD players in Business Class, which are essentially the same as they have on United Premium Service. The only difference is that there’s a bigger movie selection but you don’t get all the CD’s, but rather request the one you want. Our ISM set the whole DVD player up to the point that it started playing, and then handed it over. I went with Music and Lyrics, since I have seen most of the other movies and was simply not interested in some of them. The titles available, which were on a card in the seatpocket were:

Babel
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Gridiron Gang
All the Kings Men
Casino Royale
Stranger than Fiction
Eragon
Night at the Museum
Blood Diamond
Deja vu
Painted Veil
Music and Lyrics
Shrek 2
Ladykillers
One Hour Photo
Primeval- Episode 2
CSI NY
CSI: Miami
Prison Break

At this point hot towels were brought around and lunch service commenced. After the hot towel service, drinks were brought around, along with veggie chips. The menu read as follows:

Lunch

Starter
Bell pepper panna cotta with smoked kassler pork, micro cress and yoghurt dressing

Main Course
Grilled New Zealand beef fillet steak with gratin potato, green beans and bearnaise sauce
Kawakawa chicken Caesar salad with bacon, croutons, egg, parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing
Spicy New Zealand lamb wrap with capsicum, rocket, hummus and caponata in a soft flour tortilla

Dessert
Gourmet ice cream dessert of apple crumble and hokey pokey ice cream

Cheese
Fine regional cheese and preserved fruit

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

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 Mariner
Bailey 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

As the meal service began I was worried it would have the same issues as Premium Service Business, namely that it's difficult to have a tray and portable DVD player on your tray table at the same time. While I figured out that you can just put the DVD player under the tray on PS, that wasn’t an issue here. NZ purposely made their trays only take up half of the tray table so that there’s plenty of space for the DVD player- VERY smart!^

I wasn’t really a fan of the starter, personally, but it seemed to be good if you like that kind of food. The bread basket was also brought around at this point, which once again consisted of rolls, garlic bread, etc. Because the cabin is so small service is very personalized and plates are cleared immediately when finished. As soon as everyone was done the main course was brought around, and I saw earlier on the manifest that they have five of all three choice for eight people, so no one didn’t get their first choice!^ I decided to go with the beef, which was fantastic!

Once that was done the FA brought around the dessert cart, which consisted of ice cream, cheeses, and dessert liqueurs, of which I took ice cream. Again, NZ’s ice cream is simply amazing!^ Lastly, the coffee cart was brought around, which I passed on except for the amazing little mint chocolates in the golden foil that they have. Truly an amazing meal service for such a short flight!^

As the meal service finished we had some constant light turbulence, so the seatbelt sign was left on for a while, although they don’t really seem to enforce it. We began our approach into AKL at around 4:00PM, and landed at around 4:30PM. We quickly taxied to the gate, where we arrived five minutes late.

At AKL:

We almost retraced our footsteps from our arrival in AKL from LAX, but instead of heading towards customs we headed towards international transfers, where there was no line. It was a simple security checkpoint and everything could be left on!^ We were done with that by around 4:45PM, and back into the international terminal. We headed straight for the Air New Zealand International Business lounge, which was not all that crowded considering how many outbound flights there were. I caught up on some email, FT, etc., and worked a bit on my trip report for around two hours. The food selection was similar to last time, which was good but not great like in the Koru Lounges.

At this point my mom was at the computers, and there was an announcement made as follows: “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Rachael and I will be the inflight service manager on NZ6 to LAX this evening. If anyone has anything they need to discuss with me please do so now as I will only be here for a few minutes.” I was quite impressed by the fact that she showed up at the lounge! I figured since it was my mom’s birthday I would see if there was anything she could do, so I went to talk to her. She said that she would recognize her aboard, which I thought was a nice touch!^

At around 6:50PM we headed down towards gate 10 for our departure. The boarding area was totally packed, since there was a flight to SFO and two flights to LAX! As we got near the gate there were two agents there checking passports and tickets, as well as initialing the boarding passes. It was around 6:55PM by the time we were done with that, and boarding commenced shortly thereafter. They started boarding only families with children under seven and disabled passengers, and after another three minutes Business, Star Gold, and Koru Club Gold.

Sunday, June 10
NZ006
AKL-LAX
Aircraft: 777-200
Seat: 6B
Scheduled Departure Time: 7:30PM
Actual Departure Time: 7:28PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 12:40PM
Actual Arrival Time: 12:45PM
Load: 100%C/90%Y

Immediately upon boarding the ISM was standing at the door and when she saw me immediately said to my mother “I understand it’s your birthday today. Happy birthday!” Several other FA’s wished her a happy birthday, which was great. Our garment bag was immediately taken and we took the left turn to Business Premier. On the 777 Business Premier is in a 1-2-1 layout, and there are seven rows in total. Since the 747 is also 1-2-1 in the rear Business Premier cabin and is somewhat tight at that for a plane wider than the 777, it was clear that these seats were at a much greater forward angle.

I immediately stored my carry-ons, and as has become custom, snapped a few pictures of the cabin. Again I absolutely loved it and was impressed. As I took my seat I noticed that the menu, wine list, and amenity kit were already on the ottoman and the bottle of water was already next to the seat. Tonight’s selection was much more pleasing to me than what they had on my last flight, which I will get into more detail on in a bit.

As boarding continued the cabin pretty quickly filled up and pre-departure drinks were offered, of which I took water. My mother was seated in the row in front of me, and I really had to lean forward to talk to her, but it still seemed better than being across from one another. An older French couple settled into 7A & 7B, and surprisingly the wife was snapping quite a few pictures of her seat as well.

There was also a guy sitting across from me who I swore was a FAM, until I saw him sleeping the whole flight. I remember Kiwi Flyer telling me that until now the New Zealand govt. did not allow FAM's, but apparently that was changing. He had all the characteristics of a FAM, including just drinking water the whole flight, until he decided to sleep. Obviously I was embarrassed when I was bragging to my mom about my excellent FAM spotting skills, and was clearly wrong.

At around 7:25PM the captain came on the PA and announced that we would have a flight time of 12 hours and it should be a smooth ride. Just a minute later the door closed and the safety video commenced. As the safety video finished up we began our pushback and quick taxi to the runway. Rachael made her pre-takeoff announcements, which I thought were very professional both in her tone and her clarity.^ One FA was taking drink orders at this point, and took them until a few seconds before takeoff.

One of the cool things about the NZ Business Premier Seat is that you can have it any position you want during takeoff, instead of that stupid straight up position, which is fantastic!^ As we got to the runway we held in position, applied plenty of power, and released the brakes, rocketing down the runway.

We began a very slow climb, and it took around eight minutes for us to get to 10,000 feet. There was some light chop during takeoff, but nothing bad. As the seatbelt sign was turned off I quickly headed to the lavatory to change into PJ’s, which is the only way to fly on longhaul flights, IMO. As we continued our climb the ISM said she had turned on the entertainment system, but I could not get mine to work. I went to see her and she tried to reset it, unsuccessfully. Since it was not working for anyone at this point she called maintenance and they recommended that she reset the system, which would take 20 minutes. At that point the system started working, fortunately. She handled the whole issue very professionally, and everyone was very understanding.

About 25 minutes after takeoff, service started first with the immigration cards, followed by some hot towels, followed quickly by drinks, veggie chips, and tablecloths. At this point I decided to watch a movie, and decided to start the flight with I Think I Love My Wife, starring Chris Rock. At this point dinner service began, and the dinner menu read as follows:

Dinner

Starter
Manuka poached king prawns with fennel, baby curly endive, mango and dill dressing

Main Course
Roast fillet of New Zealand beef with a blue cheese and oxtail ravioli, steamed potatoes, green beans with hazelnuts and paprika tomato broth
Confit chicken thigh with currant and chicken mousse, herb butter, vine ripened tomato and mushroom rocket risotto
42 Below vodka marinated and caramelised salmon with asparagus, kaffir lime mash, citrus crème fraiche and watercress
Kawakawa butternut, mushroom and organic feta tart with tomato and red pepper compote and salad greens

Dessert
Gourmet dessert of lemon meringue pie ice cream and manuka honey chestnut ribbon ice cream with vanilla almond wafer
Apple and black doris plus tart with titoki liqueur cream

Cheese
A selection of fine New Zealand cheese

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

Snacks
Help yourself from our range of snacks available for you to enjoy during your flight

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 Mariner
Bailey 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 selection at the back of your Air New Zealand Wine Guide for the 42 Below cocktails currently being showcased onboard.”[/I]

Sauvignon Blanc

Kaituna Valley
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Saint Clair
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Waipara Hills
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Wither Hills
Malborough Sauvignon
Blanc - 2006

Chardonnay

Fiddler’s Green Waipara
Chardonnay - 2004

Staete Landt Vineyard
Chardonnay - 2004

Ngatarawa Silks
Chardonnay - 2005

Wither Hills
Chardonnay – 2004

Premium White Wines

Allan Scott Marlborough
Riesling - 2005

Trinity Hills
Hawke’s Bay Viognier - 2005

Waipara Hills
Pinot Gris – 2006

Pinot Noir

Highfield Estate
Pinot Noir - 2005

Nautilus Marlborough
Pinot Noir - 2005

Palliser Estate
Pinot Noir - 2004

West Brook Winery
Pinot Noir - 2005

Premium Red Wines

Craggy Range
Sophia Merlot/Cabernet Franc - 2004

Pegasus Bay
Merlot Cabarnet - 2003

Trinity Hills Hawke’s Bay
Tempranillo - 2005

Montana Reserve
Marlborough Merlot – 2004

Te Awa Winery
Hawke’s Bay Merlot - 2004

Vidal Estate
Syrah – 2004

Dessert Wines

Forrest Estate
Botrytised Riesling - 2005

Jackson Estate
Botrytis Riesling - 2006

The tray was quickly brought out with prawns as well as the breadbasket. The prawns were delicious, as was the rest of the starter. As soon as that was cleared the main courses were all brought out on a tray, of which I took the beef. Simply put, the main course was excellent!^ As soon as that was finished the tray was cleared and within another ten minutes dessert was brought out, which was the option between pie and ice cream. I went with the ice cream, the flavors of which I was not fond of. At this point the the ISM made an announcement that due to our turbulence coffee service would be postponed, but they would try their hardest to serve it ASAP. The captain also announced that he was talking to other aircraft and they were also experiencing turbulence, so we should expect it for the next two hours, which turned out to be true.

As the tablecloths were collected I reclined my seat to a comfortable position and finished my movie. It was pitch dark outside and the cabin lights were dimmed. It was clear that the older French couple behind me had not yet done NZ C and I noticed they were having trouble, so I helped them out a bit. The lady could not figure out how to turn off her reading light, which I also didn’t know how to do until Kiwi Flyer told me how, namely just stowing it in the flat position, so I helped her do that. Also, she couldn’t get her seat to fold over into the bed position, so I helped her out, which she appreciated.

At this point my movie was done and I went with Because I Said So, starring Mandy Moore. It was a decent airplane movie I guess, since I was running out of things to watch. During this time the FA’s set up the snacks on the table behind row seven on each side, which consisted of extra bottled water, granola bars, chocolate bars, etc. About half the cabin went to sleep after the meal service, but I was not tired yet. I have to add that I find the seat very nice for lounging, since you can recline somewhat and still have your feet on the ottoman with your knees bent.

As the movie finished up we had around eight hours left in the flight, so I kind of ran out of stuff to do. The turbulence had worn off at this point and I decided to watch some sitcoms. I watched an episode of The Simpsons, Everyone Hates Chris, and Malcolm In the Middle.

At this point I decided to stretch my legs and chatted with one of the FA’s in our aisle, who was fantastic. She said some interesting stuff about NZ, and I was especially surprised to hear how well Premium Economy is doing for NZ. Premium Economy basically gets Business Class service with an Economy Plus seat. On the 777 it is especially uncomfortable from what I could see, since the width is basically the same, still in a 3-3-3 configuration. It is located right behind the galley and is only two rows, but based on what I can see they charge ridiculous prices for it! She said it is expanding fleet wide, which is interesting. We talked about the industry in general, especially the issues with the US industry, and it was cool to hear her view on it. I was surprised to hear that the four pilots get three mini-breaks, instead of taking their breaks at once. This seems somewhat impractical for sleeping, since each break is less than 1.5 hours.

I also took a couple pictures of the bathroom, which have very nice floors and toothbrushes and lip balm available throughout the flight. As I went to the rear galley for a second for an extra bottle of water I noticed that the two FA’s were massaging each other, and this wasn’t just for five minutes, but for quite a while.

At this point I decided to try and get some sleep since I had a long day in Los Angeles upon arrival and didn’t want to go straight to bed since it was my mom’s birthday. I turned the seat into a bed, put down the comforter, grabbed an extra couple of pillows from the overhead bin, and put down the duvet. I tried my hardest to sleep but simply couldn’t. After 15 minutes I decided to prop the pillows against the back wall and “sit up in bed” to watch some TV. I watched a couple more sitcoms, and with a little over five hours left in the flight, decided I would sleep. I did manage to get some sleep, and was woken up by the cabin lights turning on 2hr5min before our arrival.

As I slowly regained consciousness I turned my bed back into a seat and prepared for breakfast. The breakfast menu read as follows:

Breakfast

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

Fruit and Cereal
Fruit selection with assorted cereals and yoghurts

Bakery
Croissants, muffins, wholemeal and fruit toast with fruit conserve

Hot Breakfast
Smoked chicken pesto and parmesan omelette with breakfast potatoes and chicken sausage
Lemon curd ricotta cakes with yoghurt and pohutukawa honey cream and fresh strawberry compote

Within about five minutes tablecloths were laid out, and the drink cart was immediately brought out, which consisted of a variety of juices and smoothies. I went with a peach smoothie, which is a fantastic way to start the morning, and watched the sitcom After You've Gone. Shortly thereafter the fruit appetizer was brought out, which was served with a choice of cereals. I went with muesli, which was served with a small canister of milk. Also, coffee was offered, which I took with milk and sugar. Another thing which I have noticed on all my NZ flights is that the napkin with all the silverware is extremely hard to open. It is a little bow type thing, but I could never seem to untie it, so always had to go through the cumbersome process of getting it to either the top or bottom and sliding it off.

Another FA came around with the breadbasket. I went with a croissant, which I enjoyed with the strawberry jelly. Once that was finished and cleared the main courses were brought around, and I was asked which I wanted. The FA only had the omelette on her tray, but I asked for the “pancakes,” as she called them, and she said she would get it immediately. As everyone in Business had already been served at this point and she headed back to Premium Economy with the choices, I asked if she had forgotten me, and she laughed and immediately brought my choice to me.

As the meal service wrapped up and my tray was collected, which was around an hour before landing, the FA asked if I wanted anything else, and I asked for an OJ, which was never delivered.

Again it was an excellent meal service, but there was some level of personalization missing with the service. Maybe it’s just because the cabin is so compact, but there were very few coffee refills, which I don’t personally care about, but my mother does since she’s a coffee nut in the morning. Another thing which is impractical with NZ is that the tables seem to pop open all the time from people touching the button by mistake. I observed it all flight long, and it was at times pretty entertaining.

As we began our approach I noticed that many people were taking flash pictures of their seats, which even I don’t do. I have on no other airline seen that many people taking pictures, which of course I don’t mind. As we were around 100 miles out the captain said we were on our initial descent into LAX, and that we would be landing in around 20 minutes.

I changed back out of my PJ’s, restored all of my carry-ons, packed all the menus, wine lists, and amenity kits, and fastened my comfortable seatbelt as the seatbelt sign went on. The entertainment system was stopped, leaving only the Airshow, which showed us approaching LAX over Avalon, and then turning left base for a landing on 25R, I believe. We had a relatively long taxi to the gate, and as we approached the ISM announced that we would be towed to the gate, so even though we would stop we should stay seated. One guy got up, and she got on the PA saying “Would the gentlemen standing please take his seat.” As we reached the gate I retrieved my carry-ons and bid farwell to the wonderful crew.

At LAX:

As we disembarked and I took my last look at our NZ 777 we headed through the hideous terminal and began our immigration marathon, which was quite a haul. Fortunately there was essentially no line, and we got our turn immediately. There was an incredibly friendly (or is sarcasm not easy to convey over the internet?) agent who did not say a single word to us, even after saying me “Hi, how are you?” Home sweet home! As soon as that was done we headed to the baggage carousel, where it took around 20 minutes for our bags to show up. I noticed the four NZ pilots, to my surprise one of which was a captain, two of which were first officers, and one of which was a second officer? It is normal for NZ to only have one second officer instead of two, and one less first officer?

We headed outside into a very warm Los Angeles, and I immediately made a few phone calls. We took the shuttle to the Sheraton Gateway, where we were staying.

Day Fifteen:

After dropping everything off in the room we decided to ask the concierge what the best way is to get some exercise and see some of LA. He explained how spread out LA is, and highly recommended a tour of LA, which was in a mere five minutes! It was only $49 for over four hours, which was a great deal, especially since a cab to anywhere would essentially cost that!

We headed to the tour bus which was picking us up at the hotel, and I just had that “feeling,” which I know we have all experienced as FT’ers. Generally FT’ers like to be more self-exploring tourists, IME, and not feel like uber-tourists… boy did I feel like an uber-tourist! You know when you enter a shuttle bus with 20 people and everyone has a camera, a camcorder, and a Mickie Mouse hat? Well, now I do. The tour took us to Venice Beach, Century City, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, etc. The tour guide dropped us off in Venice Beach for 30 minutes, and let me tell you, nothing beats the feeling of walking out of a bus labeled “VIP Tours” with 20 tourists, and immediately mixing in with the locals… or not, for that matter. My first reaction was that I had no clue what continent we were in. What, this is the US? Simply shocking, I must say.

The tour was definitely good and showed us LA pretty well, I would think, so was a good experience, although I don’t have to return. LA, based on what I have seen, is either totally scary or completely overrun with tourists. I worked on my trip report and went to bed at around 11PM, with a wakeup call for 5:45AM.

At LAX:

We woke up at 5:45AM, which is usually earlier than I would to fly, but it was a Monday morning. We got ready and were at the airport by 6:30AM. We were dropped off at T7, and as we searched for elite check-in were surprised by how empty the terminal was. We were originally just going to do normal check-in since the lines were short, but we figured we had a lot of baggage and maybe the elite check-in would be a wee bit more lenient.

After waiting for about five minutes in the 1K check-in line we were helped by one of the nicest ladies I have dealt with at UA. Remember, I said nicest, not most efficient. As the check-in process continues, and it sure was a process, she explained just about everything that there was to explain to me, obviously with good intent. “Just so you know, you are flying a Boeing 777 to Washington, which is great for domestic flights. Also, you will have a nice breakfast.” “Here, let me check what your departure gate is this afternoon from IAD.” By the time she was done being nice there were about five 1K’s in line, so I felt bad. Don’t get me wrong, she had great intent and was incredibly friendly, but is all this kindness and explanation necessary for a 1K who you would think is one of your more frequent flyers? Either way, she was nice, and everytime I said “thanks you” she responded, “Oh no, thank YOU Mr. lucky for your loyalty.” Great lady!^

We headed to the elite security and were told to follow the red line, which seemed to be shorter. After waiting for only around five minutes, which seemed short for a Monday morning, it was our turn. Let me preface this by saying that I was going to make a “Kip Hawley is an idiot” freedom bag for this flight, but we were running awfully close and I didn’t want to do it with my mother around. Boy, did I wish I had it! Jeez, you give these TSA people a little bit of power, and wow, do they run away with it!” Believe it or not, folks, I’m not deaf, there’s no need to scream in my ear that I need to take my laptop out, I already know.

Anyway, after two weeks of fun security, it was a nice welcome home! We were through security by around 7AM and headed towards the gate, where the lines were already as long as ever.

Now, the following is more so a commentary on how I see our sad society, rather than the actual flights. I guess I am lucky that I fly mostly on the weekends without these self-important fools, but what I saw was simply astonishing. The red carpet was of course already full of people, obviously all equipped with their Bluetooth headsets so they look like they are talking to me, but they really aren’t. I always stand back, since I don’t like to associate myself much with “those” people. As they called boarding for C & F, and I slowly proceeded forward, there were of course a bunch of people behind me “EXCUSE ME, I am in Business, out of my way please.” As one saw that I wasn’t running at lightning speed towards the card reader but was walking towards it, he asked me “Excuse me, are you in First or Business?” I just nodded, and he sort of laid off a bit out of embarrassment.

Monday, June 11
UA946
LAX-IAD
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 9B
Scheduled Departure Time: 7:50AM
Actual Departure Time: 7:50AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 3:27PM
Actual Arrival Time: 3:PM
Load: 100%F/98%C/100%Y

We headed to 9A & 9B and I stored our carry-ons, and we both took our seats. Pre-departure beverages were immediately offered with a smile. The total idiocy I was about to witness simply shocked me. First the guy in front of my mom essentially threw his coat at the FA, and the FA asked for the boarding stub with a smile. The guy aggressively responded “It’s somewhere in there!” The guy right in front of me was in his seat and really really leaned back against it. I also think he was messing a bit with the recline button. As the FA’s brought around the PDB drinks for him the conversation went as follows:

Man: “My seat is broken, someone needs to fix it now.”
FA: “What’s the problem with it, sir?”
Man “Can’t you see, it reclines all the way back, no matter what.”
FA: OK, let me get someone from maintenance.”

The way I post it does not do it justice. The way he said it was despicable. Not only wasn't his seat not reclining all the way, like I have seen before, but it was hardly moving. If he pushed really hard against it it would slowly go back, but not otherwise. I think he was also playing around with the recline switch. It was clear that he was eyeing the First Class seats. He made a total scene out of it, and instead of bringing the seat up when it reclined all the way he kept it reclined, just to try and prove a point. I couldn’t help but chuckle, and made eye contact with the FA that had to deal with him. I commented how sorry I feel that she has to deal with such jerks, and she asked if she could just hang out with us the whole flight.

As the maintenance guy came aboard the dialogue was as follows:

Maintenance: “So, you’re seat is broken?”
Man: “Uh, yeah”
Maintenance: “I aint think it’s broken. Why don’t you get up and I could give it a try.”

The man gets up, walking slightly into the F cabin looking for open seats, and the maintenance guy, who I should mention was really big, pushes against the seat as hard as he can. It doesn’t move, and he tries it again.

Maintenance: “I don’t see a problem with it, try sitting in it again.”

The man sits down and tries it again, and literally pushes against it as hard as he can, and it goes back ever so slightly.

Maintenance: “You know if there’s an empty seat on this plane you can move to?”
Man (very snippily): “I fly frequently and I haven’t seen an empty seat on a plane for over four years. I don’t care where I fly I just wanna get there!”
Maintenance: "Let me find out."
GA: “Here sir, we have another nice aisle seat for you in Business.”
Man: “Damn, I hate airplanes.”

Oh, I was so close to saying something to this guy, but decided to restrict myself so mother didn’t think I was psycho. It just amazes me! He doesn’t have the slightest manners, and I don’t think has ever heard of “thank you.” Congratulations sir!

Anyway, the flight was relatively uneventful. The captain announced a flight time of 4hr6min and an altitude of 37,000 feet. We quickly taxied to 25L, where we were quickly airborne. We had a French purser who had a REALLY strong accent, and was almost inaudible. Everytime he started the announcement he said “Ladies and XXX.” I had no clue what the second part was. Weird…

Breakfast orders were taken shortly after takeoff and were between a spinach quiche and fruit plate. We were the only ones in the mini-cabin that got our order taken the first time around, so it was clear he was going by status. It was obvious that more people wanted the quiche, and he did a fantastic job in preventing people not getting their first choice. Once he was running low on quiche he had excellent explanations on the fruit plate, adding that they come with cereal and the breadbasket. Very good idea!^ Breakfast service started with drinks, and was quickly followed by the food, which was excellent!^

I had either seen all the movies or actually wanted to save some for the other 60K miles I am flying in the next 45 days, so decided to only watch TV. There were four movies and five TV channels… is it just me, or didn’t UA used to have about seven movie channels and only two shows? Cost cutting? Either way, I watched Desperate Housewives for the first time ever! You have got to be kidding me! People actually watch this crap? Heck, I had to watch it twice just to make sure I saw correctly.

After watching TV I read Hemispheres and worked on my trip report. About an hour before landing snack mix was brought around, and the FA’s were the nicest I have experienced on UA in quite a while. Maybe it was because they knew I didn’t hate them, hate flying, and hate myself? They always served me with a smile, and were around every few minutes for refills. I thought I was on SQ for a moment!

It was at this point that I theorized why a lot of legacy carriers have some really bad FA’s, while most low cost carriers don’t. My theory is that because all the self-important jokes who think that they are some God’s because they fly Business or First, it is incredibly hard for the FA’s to deal with them. Sure bad service is never acceptable, but there are a lot less of these total jerks on WN or B6, IME.

As we approached IAD I was listening to Channel 9, and heard that our callsign was “United 946 Tango Heavy.” Now, I just asked a CFI friend of mine what that meant, and he said “Tango” usually means it’s a charter flight… anyone know the truth? I also heard UA914, which is the SFO-IAD flight, I believe, was “United 914 Lima Heavy." Strange, and would love to hear some explanations!

At IAD:

We arrived at IAD a bit early and headed straight to the C16 RCC. Surprisingly they let us in, since we were technically not on a same day Star Alliance international itinerary, and it was not a forced layover based on the schedule. I have never had an issue with it in the past, and was happy that the streak continued!^ When inside, an older lady gave me her two chits, which I saw that they have devalued as well, now printed on cheaper paper. We “enjoyed” the RCC for a while, and headed to the gate at around 4:10PM, since the flight was still showing on-time.

As we got to the gate I once again didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for one guy. While everyone else was sitting around, this guy was “locked” in the red carpet, standing there as if he were Ted King and the most excited person to "ride" Ted in history, and talking on his “Bluetooth.” Simply amazing… I gotta feel sorry for this guy, and think that the red carpet is the best thing that could have happened to his ego. I was thinking of something smart to say when I boarded, like “Wow, you must be really important, sir,” but decided against it.

The flight was delayed due to a late inbound aircraft, and only got in at 4:35. Nonetheless they managed a quick turnaround and we were boarding by 4:45PM.

Monday, June 11
UA1577 (Operated by Ted)
IAD-TPA
Aircraft: Airbus 320
Seat: 11D
Scheduled Departure Time: 4:50PM
Actual Departure Time: 5:11PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 7:14PM
Actual Arrival Time: 7:27PM
Load: 100%

As I suspected he was sitting right across from me aboard, in 11C. We were fully boarded by around 5:05PM. Unfortunately some people were apparently incorrectly seated, so there was quite a bit of seat shuffling, especially between two NRSA’s.

After takeoff it was time for some Tedivision, which actually had a long interview with Shakira. There was some light chop for quite a bit of the ride, and the captain turned on the seatbelt sign a few times. The FA, who had a Mary hairpiece, said “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign due to moderate turbulence… under no conditions should you get up and make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened.” Moderate turbulence? Ok….

We got into TPA via rwy 36L and landed a bit late. We taxied to gate E75 and it was nice to finally have made it home. As much as I love flying, I had enough of it for a few days.

At TPA:

We headed to baggage claim, and I had to remember that I was flying UA, which means that a Priority Tag guarantees your bag to be LAST… how could I forget? We only made it out at around 8PM, and on my way home I was an inch from having an accident. PSA: Don’t fly and drive jetlagged!

lucky9876coins

Conclusion:

Hmm, what else is there to say? Thanks for reading!I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the product NZ offers. The destinations we visited were amazing, and as a tourist I would have to say my favorites were Queenstown and Sydney. While they are complete opposites, I think they are both awesome in their own ways. Assuming you folks enjoy this report I would be more than happy to write a report on my other trips this summer, which include:

-In C: EWR-DUS(PrivatAir),DUS-ZRH(LH),ZRH-SIN(new SQ C),SIN-NRT(SQ),NRT-SIN(NH),SIN-ZRH(new SQ C),ZRH-FRA(LH),FRA-EWR(LH)

-In C: TPA-DCA(US),IAD-NRT(NH),NRT-PVG(NH),PEK-ICN(OZ),ICN-SFO(new SQ C),SFO-YYZ-TPA(AC)

-In F: JFK-LAX(UA),LAX-NRT-SIN-BKK(SQ),BKK-SIN(LX),SIN-ICN(new SQ F),ICN-NRT(UA),NRT-LAX(SQ),LAX-JFK(UA)

brahms77

Lucky, very entertaining trip report with pictures and detailed observations. I am so jealous, especially knowing that you have more trips to come before the end of the summer!

SEAUAKID

Lucky, thats a marvelous start. Keep it coming!

Kiwi Flyer

I'm still working my way through your voluminous report, but just (for now) wanted to comment on this.

That is not extra screening. Everyone arriving in New Zealand has to put their bags through xray machine for agriculture/quarantine checks. This is because, being a remote island heavily dependent on agriculture, many diseases and pests found elsewhere are not present in NZ and we try to keep it that way.

If you'd had extra screening you would have been directed off to the right and gotten lots of questioning, search of your bags etc.

UCBeau

one of the best trip reports i've ever read. nice job!

lucky9876coins

Well, after working on editing it all day, it's pretty much done! Just have to add the conclusion, and we should be good to go. Thanks for the comments so far.

Gacha, thanks for the explanation!

sobore

Simply an outstanding and entertaining trip report. One of the best. Better than reading a novel
Thanks Lucky!!

RTW4

I have been a poster for a number of years and have written many trip reports. This is one of the finest reports that I have ever read... CONGRATS!!!!!....

stevenshev

Great report, lucky. I would like to hear your complaints as well about the VS/NZ seat (I have a few). The UA 9xxT designation is a random letter chosen by UA to distinguish the domestic portion from the international one. For example, I was on UA 847K the other day, LGA-IAD, whereas UA 847 continued on to EZE.

WingnutSYD

Do you mind describing how exactly you paid for the trip? That is, was the whole thing covered by the 90K award? If not, which segments? Does the one award extend to the NZ flights as well?

I'm just curious as to how you go about this kind of thing, because I've been wanting to take NZ to the States for a while now...

Cheers!

lucky9876coins

Thanks for the kind words, folks!

I covered a few of my complaints about the seat at the end of the first post:

"Now, I think it's fair to say that my report has been incredibly favorable towards NZ in all regards, minus the dinner service. Just to be fair I wanted to provide some of the negatives: The controls, which were on the left side of the seat, were incredibly easy to touch by mistake. Throughout the flight I must have pushed the table button at least five times, prompting it to come out. Just sitting against the left side of the seat caused the controls to switch. Furthermore, while I found the seat to be incredibly comfortable, I can imagine that the seat would be EXTREMELY claustrophobic or uncomfortable for a person of size. Another major issue which I noticed among all my NZ flights, or many foreign carriers, for that matter, is that individual air nozzles just don’t exist, which can make a flight extremely uncomfortable. Lastly, the PTV controls were somewhat cumbersome."

Any other complaints you can think of? Would love to compare and see if I noticed them or had an issue with them.

Very interesting, I had no clue. That's weird because I fly a lot of international connectors, and almost never hear that, or maybe I just never paid attention. Learn something new everyday!^ Any clue what the reasoning behind it is?
Sure! TPA-IAD-LAX-AKL was covered with the award in C for 90K, as was AKL-SYD, and then SYD-AKL-LAX-IAD-TPA. It is basically a roundtrip to SYD through AKL with a stopover in AKL. While I was in AKL the first time around I bought cheap tickets for AKL-ZQN-CHC-WLG-AKL, which were under $300USD per person total. Keep in mind that the award portion is now 110K since the amounts went up.