AUCKLAND to WELLINGTON (AKL-WLG) on Air New Zealand 737-300 in economy class (space+ zone)
I met up with
serfty as planned at the airport and we headed through security together into the Qantas Club (since
serfty had no access to the Koru Club while I had access to both lounges). As I wasn't the first person through the WTMD today, I did not get the "random" wanding. We chatted a while, and confirmed the suspicion that the latest changes to the Qantas website on the red-edeal page did not work on the Qantas Club computers (software version too old)
Why is it that airlines don't think to upgrade their lounge computers at the same time as their websites to ensure they are usable in their own lounge? Air NZ has had similar issues in the past.
After a while
serfty's flight was called for boarding and I headed landside then back through security in the Air New Zealand portion of the domestic terminal for the Koru Club. One of my favourite agents was on duty so we had a nice wee chat. I grabbed some fruit for breakfast - the hot offering today was unappealing baked beans and dried up scrambled eggs. Still, the cold breakfast options are always good in the Koru Club - muesli, cereal, fruits, juice and toast. I had enough time to check my emails, airfare websites and FT, and grab a copy of the newspaper to read later.
Boarding was called late in the lounge, as usual. There was plenty of room in the overhead bins for my little carry on and I found I was in luck - despite a very full flight I managed to score an empty middle seat yet again. For those who haven't flown Air New Zealand domestic recently, or don't read the Air NZ forum on FT, space+ is the forward zone in economy on 737, A320 and 767 (only 737 has been completed) with approx 35" of legroom. As I
posted on my blog recently, this is better than the longhaul seats and is available on flights as short as 45 minutes.
Being a weekend flight, the offering onboard was a choice of casava crisps or lollies (pineapple lumps and jetplanes). No banana chips this time. Drinks are tea, coffee and water. I read part of the paper, and watched the kiwi trivia quiz which plays on the bulkhead and overhead monitors. I think I zoned out for a while as before I realised what was happening we had touched down at Wellington.