Osaka Kansai to Auckland (KIX-AKL) on Air New Zealand 777-200ER in business
There was no sign of boarding at the expected time, but I left the lounge to stretch my legs. When boarding was eventually called this time priority boarding was enforced and finally pre-departure bubbles served up. Somehow the transit managed to lose more time and we departed about 90 minutes late.
After take off it seemed to take a while for the crew to get organised. Even getting the meal orders was an hour into the flight. I worked out that dinner will be served around 1am Japan time, or around 5am New Zealand time, and decided to instead get some sleep.
We made up some time during the flight thanks to schedule padding, a faster cruise than normal and a more direct approach to the airport, and landed only an hour late. We got a gate at the end of the pier furthest from immigration.
I suppose it goes to show how lucky I've been not to have too many poor flights, but this was easily the worst international flight on Air New Zealand in a premium cabin for lack of service and chaos. It was nowhere near the usual high standards that Air NZ sets itself. When I gave feedback afterwards I was told there had been a lot of complaints about the Japan flights after Tokyo and Osaka were merged. I said I wasn't surprised.
Last edited by Kiwi Flyer; Jan 31, 2014 at 4:28 pm