Air New Zealand 625, Auckland (AKL) to Queenstown (ZQN)
February 9th, 2018
5:15 pm–7:05 pm
Airbus A320 ZK-OXF
Seats 8E/F (middle/aisle, economy class)

Since there was no award availability on reasonably-timed flights to Queenstown when I booked, I ended up purchasing this segment as a separate ticket. And given how risky that can be, I booked the last flight of the night as a Flexi Plus fare with the intention of switching to the earlier flight if the connection allowed.

We emerged from the lengthy process that is New Zealand customs inspection (pro tip: fill out the forms accurately! Don’t be like the people in front of us in line!) about 45 minutes after landing and found ourselves next to the Air New Zealand check-in area at Auckland’s international terminal.



The kiosks allowed us to switch to the earlier flight and check our bags in short order.



We set off for the ten minute walk through the rain to the domestic terminal. The advice is that while there’s a bus, the wait time for the bus is likely to be longer than it takes to walk.



We arrived at the gate and watched the plane come in.




Boarding was a short while later. For domestic flights, Air New Zealand operates a single class of service. Relatively new plane with slimline seats and plenty of legroom in every row.




Having decreased our position on the extravagance scale significantly in the past few hours, we traded fancy champagne for fantastic views out the window.






There was a fun trivia game playing on the overhead monitors.



Being a 5 pm flight, this one also featured Air New Zealand’s “Koru Hour” service, with beer and wine and a bag of chips on the house. I may have been on the receiving end of a look wondering what planet I was from when I’d never heard of Steinlager.




An hour and 40 minutes passed quickly and we were on the ground in Queenstown, and airport where planes turn around and use the runway for taxiing and everybody walks between the plane and the terminal.




Our bags emerged quickly and we were off to get our rental car and head into the city.

The review

Another unobjectionable single-class flight. It was comfortable and punctual enough. I’m surprised there’s no market for premium classes on these flights.