AUCKLAND to SYDNEY (AKL-SYD) on Qantas 767-300 in business class domestic config
I'd had a crazy schedule since the last big trip and it was like groundhog day. Once again up at OMG o'clock to shower, then pack, call for a cab and head off to the airport. The taxi companies must love me at the moment for the amount of business I've been putting their way - a ride to or from the airport isn't cheap. Anyway I digress. I got a driver I'd had many times before, but not for half a year or more.
He is a former pilot and instructor and takes a keen interest in aviation. Topic of the day was the crash of the Air NZ airbus in southern France which was in the process of being handed back at the end of a lease by XL. He then segued into other similar crashes. Quite a fountain of knowledge, but not the thing that most passengers would want to hear on the way to the airport. Luckily I am not most passengers
I arrived and went straight for the premium check in lobby. It was perfect timing, with no queues. Arrive early and there are lots of people who turn up 3-4 hours before departure (and there are quite a few early flights to Australia). Arrive late and the people who push things to the limit are busy checking in before the deadline. There is a sweet spot in the middle where check-in queues (as well as immigration and security) are not too bad. I know the sweet spot from taking these early flights countless times.