Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
Grabaseating New Zealand
For those of you who have never heard of Grabaseat, it is a website where Air New Zealand release 100s of daily deals around New Zealand, the Tasman and the Pacific. These fares are dirt cheap, and are an excellent way to fly, without having to fly with unreliable Jetstar. Fares like Auckland - Dunedin can be picked up for only $59, or Auckland to Rotorua, $39
Here i will post about my "Grabaseating" adventures, and hopefully inspire you to take the risk, and do one yourself
Last edited by FullyIntoNewZealand; May 12, 13 at 12:35 am..
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8305
Hamilton - Wellington
I arrived at the airport at around 10.15am, way before the checkin time of 10.50am. I wanted to allow plenty of time incase i stuffed up or something. I was quick to head over to Paper Plus bookshop inside the airport and pay the Departure Tax fee that Hamilton Airport charges all its domestic passengers. While it was only $5, it was an annoyance. I checked in, the lady at the checkin counter took my bags and gave me my boarding passes. I was surpirsed to find my baggage only weighed 10.1kg, way under my estimate of around 16/17kg. The terminal was busy, an ATR flight to Christchurch was departing 5 minutes before ours and a Eagle flight that had diverted to Hamilton from Auckland because of engine faliure was departing for Tauranga.
I went up to the Koru Lounge for a quick look around, i had a drink while waiting for the boarding call. Finally boarding was announced and i walked downstairs.
A smiley faced young lady scanned our departure tax receipts. Next came the scanning of the boarding passes and then out onto the tarmac. Ours was parked the furtheriest away but we got to see Eagles Beech 1900D depart for Tauranga (i wonder if they had to pay the departure tax? . Our flight attendent, face caked in makeup, cheerfully welcomed us aboard the Bombardier Q300 aircraft. These aircraft have 50 seats. Air Nelson the Air New Zealand subsady we were flying with own 23 of these aircraft. I had pre-requested my seat. Online, the seat map online was pretty full so i grabbed seat 6A, which was a window seat and the closest to the front. I was one of the first to board, but very soon the plane filled. A lot of Japanese tourists waving round pictures of sheep and stuff. Plane loaded the FA did the safety briefing and then the pilot did his welcome message. He told us that conditions in Wellington were worsening with heavy rain and strong southerlies. My next flight for that day was on a little Beech 1900D. I'd been warned about these planes being very bumpy in strong winds.
Anyway the flight took off ontime and we made good progress up to our cruising altitude of 20.000ft. It was a stunning day and i could see all four mountains, Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu and Taranaki. It was an interesting prospective flying over National Park Village, Horopito and Ohakune where i had spent many years living. I could see some landmarks i recognised. The FA did one run through with the coffee/tea/biscuit and two runs with the water. On nearing Marton, the cloud thinkened and the pilot came on to give us the latest on the weather in Wellington. It was still really ugly. Coming down the coasts i could see the beaches where i had family living, Tangimoana, Himatangi, Foxton, Waitarere. Suddenly the cloud was thick and off Kapiti Island the turbulence started and we were being thrown around a bit. One person vomited into a small paper bag provided by the FA. The pregnant lady sitting was looking queezy. Luckily i managed to keep my guts down and suddenly we could just glimpse the highrises of the Wellington skyline before we landed. We'd had a runway change, so we landed from the north, instead of the south. While walking to the terminal doors, i grabbed a glance of the plane, ZK-NEA was it's registration. Inside the terminal i had a 2 hour wait until my next flight to Palmerston North. I went up to the lovely Wellington Koru Lounge and had lunch. My first flight had gone well under the conditions, i had really enjoyed it.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8305
Hamilton - Wellington
I arrived at the airport at around 10.15am, way before the checkin time of 10.50am. I wanted to allow plenty of time incase i stuffed up or something. I was quick to head over to Paper Plus bookshop inside the airport and pay the Departure Tax fee that Hamilton Airport charges all its domestic passengers. While it was only $5, it was an annoyance. I checked in, the lady at the checkin counter took my bags and gave me my boarding passes. I was surpirsed to find my baggage only weighed 10.1kg, way under my estimate of around 16/17kg. The terminal was busy, an ATR flight to Christchurch was departing 5 minutes before ours and a Eagle flight that had diverted to Hamilton from Auckland because of engine faliure was departing for Tauranga.
I went up to the Koru Lounge for a quick look around, i had a drink while waiting for the boarding call. Finally boarding was announced and i walked downstairs.
A smiley faced young lady scanned our departure tax receipts. Next came the scanning of the boarding passes and then out onto the tarmac. Ours was parked the furtheriest away but we got to see Eagles Beech 1900D depart for Tauranga (i wonder if they had to pay the departure tax? . Our flight attendent, face caked in makeup, cheerfully welcomed us aboard the Bombardier Q300 aircraft. These aircraft have 50 seats. Air Nelson the Air New Zealand subsady we were flying with own 23 of these aircraft. I had pre-requested my seat. Online, the seat map online was pretty full so i grabbed seat 6A, which was a window seat and the closest to the front. I was one of the first to board, but very soon the plane filled. A lot of Japanese tourists waving round pictures of sheep and stuff. Plane loaded the FA did the safety briefing and then the pilot did his welcome message. He told us that conditions in Wellington were worsening with heavy rain and strong southerlies. My next flight for that day was on a little Beech 1900D. I'd been warned about these planes being very bumpy in strong winds.
Anyway the flight took off ontime and we made good progress up to our cruising altitude of 20.000ft. It was a stunning day and i could see all four mountains, Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu and Taranaki. It was an interesting prospective flying over National Park Village, Horopito and Ohakune where i had spent many years living. I could see some landmarks i recognised. The FA did one run through with the coffee/tea/biscuit and two runs with the water. On nearing Marton, the cloud thinkened and the pilot came on to give us the latest on the weather in Wellington. It was still really ugly. Coming down the coasts i could see the beaches where i had family living, Tangimoana, Himatangi, Foxton, Waitarere. Suddenly the cloud was thick and off Kapiti Island the turbulence started and we were being thrown around a bit. One person vomited into a small paper bag provided by the FA. The pregnant lady sitting was looking queezy. Luckily i managed to keep my guts down and suddenly we could just glimpse the highrises of the Wellington skyline before we landed. We'd had a runway change, so we landed from the north, instead of the south. While walking to the terminal doors, i grabbed a glance of the plane, ZK-NEA was it's registration. Inside the terminal i had a 2 hour wait until my next flight to Palmerston North. I went up to the lovely Wellington Koru Lounge and had lunch. My first flight had gone well under the conditions, i had really enjoyed it.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ2434
Wellington - Palmerston North
The Koru Lounge was packed and there was not a lot of seats around. I already had my boarding pass that had been printed in Hamilton but made my way to the gate 20 minutes early. It was a long walk down cold narrow passageways to the gate, located at the far extremes of the airport. It was a tiny little terminal, serving only Air2There, Sounds Air, Air New Zealand Link and Air Chathams passengers. The check in lady came over and had a natter to me for 10 minutes. Slowly the terminal filled to around 18 passengers and the lady said we could board early if we wanted. Most unusual i thought was the fact that we were lead out of the terminal and around the tarmac by our two female pilots. We waited in the drizzle and wind while one pilot got the door open. Inside i was surprised. I knew it would be small, but not this small. We bumped and squeezed into our seats, mine was 7a. Again, being Gold, i had prebooked my seat online, but the flight was full and Seat 7A was the best i could get on the side i wanted. I could feel the wind pushing the plane about. A student from Invercargill sat in his seat diagonally from me, remarking: "this is a mean little plane". Everyone laughed. On hearing a bump in the cargo hold, the lady in front of me remarked that that was just the tail falling off. Everyone cracked up again. The student looked at me and said "your our window opener if we have to ditch". He was referring to the emergency window i was seated under. "No worries, it'll probably fall off midflight anyway", i replied. The lady across from me laughed and said that we wearnt giving the aircraft much credit. We all agreed and prepared for takeoff. It was bumpy, especially taking off out to Cook Strait, and we were thrown from side to side, not seeing anything through the clouds. suddenly we broke above the clouds and the sun made beautiful patterns across the clouds. Everyone was pressed against their windows. It was stunning. We hovered at 9.000ft over the Tarirua Ranges, before dropping down over Levin. From my seat 7a, I had an alright view of the flaps and props. We lined up the runway and landed with only a few bumps and wobbles. We taxied to the terminal while the captain did her thank you message. We disembarked into a cold typical Manawatu Day, and as i walked in the terminal, our bags were already on the carousel. I collected mine and walked to my waiting ride. i had quite enjoyed that little flight. A great second flight.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8567
Tauranga - Wellington
I arrived at the airport at around 7.30am. I checked in and then up to the small Tauranga Koru Lounge to wait. At 8.05 boarding was called and we made our way onto the tarmac. The online seat map, was chooka when i booked, and seat 11a, which is right at the back of the Q300 aircraft was the only window seat left. We took off 5 minutes early, and headed straight out towards Katikati before turning south again. Above the clouds we couldn't see a thing. And it was like that for pretty much the whole trip. Throughout the whole flight, we had turbulence, nothing major, but enough to make you uneasy. The FA did one run through with the Tea/Coffee/Water around 30 minutes into the flight, when the Turbulence had subsided briefly. We got a glimpse of Ashhurst and Palmerston North through the clouds and that was it, before we ploughed into more clouds. We descended into a blustery Wellington day and landed with heaps of sharp jolts and shudders. We taxied to gate 12 and in the terminal I found that we were 10 late, due to a strong headwind. Weirdly we had no communication from the pilots the whole trip. Usually you have the odd progress update, but nothing. Hats off to the Flight Attendant though, she did exceptionally well in trying conditions.
I ran up to the Koru Lounge and had a hot cup of Tea, which restored my energy sufficiently enough to prepare me for my next flight of the day.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8445
Wellington - Nelson
This was the flight the did'nt happen.
I had flown down from Tauranga with a full "Grabseating" day planned. The plane was Tauranga - Wellington - Nelson - Auckland - Wellington - Tauranga. The boarding call for Nelson was called, and i ran down to Gate 13. We boarded, dashing into the aircraft from the rain. I had selected online seat 3A and the plane fulled up. I really couldn't afford any muck ups today, the schedule was so tight. So far so good however. We taxied out and began to takeoff. Suddenly the brakes were applied fiercely and we were thrust forward in our seats. The captain came onto to report a malfunction with the left engine and he was going to park up and sort it out. He told us to hold still. 35 minutes later, we were still sitting there, i was getting agitated.
We were finally put back to the Gate and were told to report to the Air NZ check in desk for further info. The next flight they could get me on was at 1.20pm, way after the departure of the Nelson - Auckland flight i was booked on.
The guy at the desk was so unhelpful and i felt like beating the crap out of him, he annoyed me that much. He couldn't understand my problem and then laughed at me. I ended up yelling at him loudly that can he PLEASE put me onto someone that can actually help me, instead of him MUCKING me around. He grumped, then got the phone and called the Auckland office. He handed the phone to me, and the lady on the other end was fantastic, A++++ What world class service!!
She gave me a refund for the Wellington - Nelson - Auckland - Wellington flights, and put me on the next flight back to Tauranga free of charge. What wonderful service. Well Done Air NZ!!!
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ2706
Tauranga - Auckland
It was my little half brothers 6th birthday (such a big age gap), and he wanted to go on a plane for his birthday. So the good older brother i am, i kept an eye on Grabaseat.co.nz, and managed to grab two $45 Tauranga to Auckland fares.
We arrived at the airport around 5 minutes prior to the final check in time. I looked up at the departures board and saw my 11.25am flight had been delayed till 1.45pm. This no good to me. I had an appointment at 12.30pm. I went over to the check in lady and explained my situation. She said, "oh what, umm somebodys fat fingered, it's delayed 5 minutes, now departing at 11.30am". Phew!! We boarded at 20 past 11 and,walked out into the wind. It was blowing a gale, we hopped into the small 1900D. I selected seats right at the back, so I could help him with his belt and bag. He had 9F and me 9A.
I dont swear often, but that takeoff from Tauranga and landing in Auckland was SCARY. It was Gale up there. I was gripping my seat rests, all the time trying to reassure my first time flyer 6 year old brother, who was scared. The whole we were in thick cloud, being thrown around and shaken up and down. It was the most turbulent flight I've ever undertaken. Some gusts of wind, nearly stopped the poor 1900D in it's tracks. We landed in Auckland and whilst disembarking, the pilots apologized for the rough weather. I was so glad to be on the ground, and so was my poor little brother who was traumatized. So congratulations flight NZ2706, you have earn't the title of the most turbulent flight I've had so far.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8561
Tauranga - Christchurch
With my refunded airpoints from my cancelled Nelson flights, i kept an eye on Grabaseat for anything promising. Three days later, i had booked a Tauranga - Christchurch return same day flight, for $65 one way. The only problem was the the outbound flight departed Tauranga at 6.30am arriving at 8.25am, it did'nt leave CHC again until just before 8pm that evening. I had the whole day to fill in. The next day a $45 fare from Christchurch to Hokitika on the date i wanted came up. Suddenly my computer froze, and did'nt unfreeze until most of the seats had gone. There was one seat left on the day i wanted for a CHC to Hokitika flight only. I grabbed it still and then investigated ways of getting from Hokitika to Christchurch. I found a Christchurch company, Atomic Shuttles limited, who operate the route. I booked the $55 shuttle fare (including a $10 surcharge to get dropped near the airport).
Anyway, more about the first flight of the day, Flight: NZ8561 Tauranga to Christchurch
I arrived at the airport just before the minimum checkin time of 6.00am. The online seat map, was chooka again, I choose seat 12A, right at the back. I really didn't have time to use the Koru Lounge, but i was thirsty so ran up for a glass of water. Boarding was called and we made our way out onto the tarmac. The weather was cloudy, otherwise fine. We took off ontime and climbed to 22.000ft. Unfortunately there was a bit of condensation on the inside of the window, which turned to ice, making visibility low. It started to cloud over at around Turangi, and stayed that way till just north of Kaikoura. By that time, the view out of my window was looking out at the sea. Suddenly something caught my attention. Around 2.000ft below us i could see Mount Cook Airlines ATR 72-500 which I found out later was heading to Christchurch from Palmerston North. The flight attendant did one run through with the coffee, tea and biscuits, and two runs through with the water.
We hit a bump will the FA was handing out the lollies, and Lollies tumbled all over me. She apologized, but it was no biggie. I helped collect MOST (emphasis on the most, some were slipped into my bag rather cheekily) of the sweets and then we prepared for landing. Banks Peninsular slowly drifted into view. We descended over the eastern suburbs and New Brighton. We landed from the south and taxied to gate 10. A nice flight indeed
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ2862
Christchurch - Hokitika
After flying down that morning from Tauranga, I had two hours Transit in Christchurch. I went into the packed Koru Lounge, didn't fancy a lot on offer. I then took a walk around the industrial park and had a milkshake at Mc Donalds before heading back to the airport to check in. I selected seat 6A on the online seat map, which I wasn't happy about due to a bar running under neath the seat in front of me. We departed from gate 7 ontime, and taxied out to the runway for a northwest departure. I looked around, there was only 5 people on the flight. There was no one in the first 5 rows, why was the seat map so full up then?? We took off, without any safety briefing, none at all!!, which surprised me. We climbed to 13.000ft, and made our way over the Southern Alps. Around half way over, we hit cloud, and didn't lose it until we'd descended to around 2.000ft over Hokitika. We headed out to sea, then turned inland again for an approach to the runway from the North. We landed pretty violently I thought, almost as if the parking brakes were applied before touchdown, that's what it felt like!! . We taxied to the small but functional terminal. The weather was a bit hazy, but no drizzle. Good flight, but I was puzzeled with the lack of a safety briefing...
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
Atomic Shuttles Trip
After landing at Hokitika, i walked out side to the Car Park, to my waiting Taxi. I gave her the address of the bus stop in Town and we departed. Hokitika Airport is the only airport on the West Coast, which is not prone to flooding, due to it been built on a flat topped hill. The Taxi driver talked about the Airport that is trying to get an approval to lengthen the runway to become an International Airport.
In town, she dropped me off at the bus shelter. I jumped out, paid her, and then took a look through town. I had 50 minutes before the bus departed, so i had lunch at Stumpers, a bar/cafe on the main drag, before continuing my look around. After walking along the beach, i glanced at the time and ran back to the bus stop. I boarded the Intercity Bus, which was to take me on the first part of the journey through to Greymouth. The weather was still hazy, but had yet to produce any precipitation. We crossed over the narrow road/rail Taramakau Bridge, and wound alongside the beach before arriving in Greymouth. At the railway station, the Tranz Alpine train had just arrived from Christchurch.
I checked in with my shuttle driver and boarded the small shuttle. It was so SMALL and CRAMPED. I'm not a huge person, but the belt didn't even fit around me. We set off and immediately the whole shuttle rattled and shook. I was expecting the driver to pull over and fix it, but NOPE, he was obviously used to it. I glanced around the shuttle, it was SO dirty and grimy. I was very unimpressed. Luckily the stunning scenery took my mind off it. We stopped in Arthurs Pass Village for a break, before setting off. Around half and hour later, the sun broke out and we could fully see the glorious towering mountains that surrounded us.
After 5 hours of traveling on the shuttle, we pulled up outside the Antarctic Centre, my stop. I was jolted to pieces, i was a broken person. My back ached, my ears hurt and i was hunched over. I walked over to the airport and went into the Koru Lounge, where i had a few drinks and a fabulous dinner. I revived me enough, and i was able to forget about the traumatic afternoon which had taken place.........
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8560
Christchurch to Tauranga
Boarding was called and i made my way out of the lounge and down to Gate 10. The flight attendant welcomed me aboard and i sat down in my seat, 10A, which is an emergency window. The flight filled until there was not one seat left. It was Friday night, and the only direct flight back to Tauranga. The weather was drizzly, breezy and cold. We took off to the North and climbed to 21.000ft. The FA did two runs through with the coffee/tea/water and we watched the sun set over the impressive southern alps. It was completely dark by the time we reached Blenheim, only it's twinkling lights made its presence known. It clouded over a bit, and i saw nothing until we landed in Tauranga. We flew right over my house, which was cool!!! The FA switched the lights off, and no one kept their reading lights on, which made for a cool experience. We landed from the North East and taxied to the Terminal. There were 2 other Q300s parked up for the night. The captain farewelled us personally by shaking our hands whilst disembarking, Nice Job!!!
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8579
Tauranga - Wellington
I had prebooked these flights around two months before departure, when Grabseat had a day filled with $31 fares. This was to be a grand grabaseating day.
I arrived at the airport late, i checked in and pretty much walked straight out onto the plane. The online seat map was pretty full, so i grabbed seat 7D.The plane filled to around 40/45 passengers and we took off. It was a cloudy day, but without a breath of wind. We passed over Tokoroa, Turangi, Waiouru, Taihape, Bulls, and then back over towards the Rimutaka Ranges. The FA did her run through with the standard Coffee/Tea/Water. The captain came onto to announce a runway change and that we'd be on the ground 8 minutes early, SWEET!!
It was a fine day in Wellington, the best and smoothest landing I'd ever had there. We taxied to gate 8, and i walked up to the Koru Lounge to wait out my 40 minute transit.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ5401
Wellington to Queenstown
I had a mini muffin and a soft drink in the Lounge, before wandering down to Gate 14. The small terminal was packed as per usual. Boarding was at 11.30am, and that come around very quickly. I was looking forward to this, my first trip in an ATR aircraft, the largest of Air NZs prop planes. I had seat 6D, which due to the rear loading configuration of the ATR, meant it took wee while to get up there. The captain came onto report, fine but windy weather in Queenstown. We took off to the South and climbed high over the calm bright Cook Strait.
Over Blenheim the cloud thickened, and i couldn't see any of the wonderful landscape below us. I flicked through the Kia Ora Magazine. The FAs did one run through with everything. I was getting a bit bored, when suddenly Mount Cook poked above the clouds just below us. What sight!!! Aoraki, the sky piercer.
We started to descend over Wanaka, and that's when the wind began to buffet us around. It made an already technical landing, that much more difficult. What a thrill though, landing amongst all the those mountains. We landed with a thud, and taxied to the surprisingly small terminal. It took ages to deplane, very slow!!! In the airport, i ran out and caught a taxi into town, i had 5 hours here, and i didn't want to waste it sitting around in the lounge.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ628
Queenstown to Christchurch
After a very enjoyable afternoon in Queenstown, i headed back to the airport, and had a quick snack in the lounge. I passed through my first security check ever!! I had selected seat 10A, which is in the +space part of the aircraft. The plane filled slowly, and i had the whole 3 seats in my row to myself. Queenstown had no taxiways, so we had to taxi to the end of the runway to take off. The wind was still gusty, but definitely not as bad as earlier in the afternoon.
We took off to the south and climbed to 27.000ft. I had hit Koru Hour, so instead of the traditional Tea/Coffee/Water, passengers were offered L&P, Stienlager Pure and 5 different kinds of wine. The also handed out bags of Sweet chilli and lime crisps. The cloud thickened as we descended, and we thudded onto Christchurchs runway in heavy rain. I was glad we used an air bridge unlike Queenstown. It was a very enjoyable flight, my first ever jet flight I went up to the Lounge and had a hot drink and a biscuit before heading back down to the prop gate.
Location: Whakatane, New Zealand/Chatham Islands, New Zealand
Programs: Air New Zealand Airpoints GOLD
Posts: 191
NZ8560 again
Down at the prop gates, i arrived just in time for boarding. We had the gate directly outside the terminal, which was luckily, it was still raining heavily and it was cold!!
I had seat 3D, and waited while the plane filled up. Like last time, the flight was full and i lost the seat next to me to a grumpy woman who complained about her cancelled JetStar flight that afternoon. (Jetstar doesn't fly to Tauranga!!!) We took off to the North and climbed to 23.000ft. It didn't get completely dark until Palmerston North, half huddled under the clouds. The FA did her run through with the refreshments and happily chatted to everyone. Landing in Tauranga, the lights where switched out, and thudded onto the runway on a clear warm Tauranga night. The pilots did an engine systems check before the doors were finally opened. I disembarked and jogged into the terminal.
Another great flight, even a second time around in under 2 weeks!! The whole days airfares all up cost me $124, which is fantastic!!!
