Landing

Landing was pretty uneventful. The standard announcements and welcomes were made on board and it was a quick process of deplaning in to the terminal.

I was very happy with the immigration process as there was only one person working on the international passports section while everyone else from my flight had a New Zealand or Australia passport which was on a different queue.

The priority tag did its job and my bag was first off the belt when it started and we were soon off to the hotel of which pictures can be seen below. It was truly a disappointing abode.

Auckland

Here are some pictures of which I took during my brief adventures in Auckland.





The priority tags did their job upon arrival.


Cute pussy cat




Ticket on the way to Devonport.


Calamari and some peas for breakfast in Devonport. Very nice and delicious.




My hang luggage contained 1 shirt. I find it hard to find shirts that fit so this was a blessing.


Conclusion

Overall, I was satisfied with the product. With the actual money I paid I was not in the position to complain and I have recouped the cost of it through excessive drinking and the lounge food.

What actually made the difference was the crew which I could have been more than happy about. They were friendly, attentive and responsive which is what you need for a needy traveller like me.

The Premium Economy experience seems to be marketed as a light business class product which includes lounge access, priority boarding, priority lane access through immigration and priority baggage handling. If you (the reader) is considering buying this product on an upcoming trip you should consider whether the above will be of use to you bearing in mind that the premium on top of an economy fare might be significant if paying only with cash.

As for selecting it for a short flight like Sydney to Auckland, if you can bear a 3 hour and a bit flight then it is probably better to save some bucks and just travel Economy but at least I can tick of the Premium Economy experience with Virgin Australia.

I hope you have had a great time reading this trip report and again apologies for being 4 months late with this!

/AE