Nice thread idea! A few random memories of mine:
- I definitely remember the red and orange livery for domestic aircraft, it was adapted from the old NAC livery, which used to run the NZ domestic services. There are various photos of it online. It's a bit reminiscent of the UA red livery from around the same time
- Flying BHE > WLG > NPE on the old F27 Friendships. Blenheim airport at the time was a weatherboard cottage with a few rows of plastic seats and a space invaders machine. Wellington airport was the dreadful old hanger, which was drafty and leaky
- As a kid, getting to hand out the boiled lollies just before descent, and sometimes being given an incredibly generous serve to take home (one time the FA got me to grab my carry-on, unzip it, and they just poured all the sweets in - total sugar overload!)
- The terrible catering on a 767 on a breakfast flight CHC-SYD in 1989. Back then QF and NZ codeshared on the Tasman, there was virtually no competition, prices were high and service was patchy
- The awesome domestic catering once Ansett NZ came along and forced AirNZ to up its standards. I remember flying CHC-AKL as a student on a dinnertime flight on Ansett (which I think they called a 'blue ribbon' flight, due to being main trunk and mealtime?) and being served delicious chicken and a mini bottle of wine while looking out the window at beautiful scenery in the early evening light, and thinking 'this is fun...'. I think that set me on a quest for upgrades and airlines with decent wine and food. Then a few years later, having flown LHR-LAX-AKL and my early morning connection on Ansett AKL-WLG had to turn back to Auckland because an engine failed (luckily the BAe146 had four...), getting the last seat on the AirNZ AKL-WLG service and being served the most delicious hot breakfast of spicy apple pancakes... yes, in Y.
- The 12 seat business class cabin on the international 733s that NZ flew across the Tasman in the late 90s/early 2000s. Upgrades were cheap and I had many happy flights on them, with great service, food and wine. Even the Y class catering on those flights was excellent... until Tasman Express came along.