Sydney to Auckland on Qantas A330 in business class

Smartgate was quick but the security queue was long with only 2 lanes open. Original departure time came and went. Eventually through and I gave a small wave at the first class lounge entrance above as I rushed past. Hopefully it won't be another 2 years before I can visit it.

We ended up departing 30 minutes late, which wasn't as bad as I expected. However it goes to show that you really need at least 90 minutes from domestic to international transfers at Sydney, even on same ticket and airline.

The flight back to New Zealand was relatively uneventful, with a couple of exceptions. Firstly they ran out of arrival cards (in economy cabin). I'd heard arrival can be slow due to the various health checks, so perhaps people could fill in the form while they are in line? Secondly passengers on my flight from Melbourne were asked to see ground staff on arrival. I assumed this meant checked bags hadn't made the flight. Not an issue for me being carry on only, but could be problematic for some given it would take at least a couple of days (if not longer if continuing on from Auckland) for the bags to catch up. I've been there before. I've once spent 3 weeks travelling around Spain with barely anything after a near misconnect in the old Bangkok airport (that involved an aircraft to aircraft bus ride, a missed approach into Sydney and a major power outage in Auckland causing multi-hour delays all on the same two-leg flight - but that is another story). The point is I know how inconvenient it can be to not have checked bags on arrival.

I power walked through the duty free (again staff outnumbering passengers) to reach the health checks with no one in front. They checked the New Zealand pass and my domestic vaccine pass. The official lingered over my screenshot of the test result and in particular the date of test. I said I'd come straight from London. This was enough. I didn't need to show the printout of the requirement wording.

Smartgate was quick. Through a deserted baggage claim area and first to customs. Straight to x-ray and back landside within 15 minutes of leaving the aircraft. Although cloudy, humid and threatening to rain I power-walked to domestic terminal. Through security - only 1 lane open so a bit slower than I expected but still quick enough. I checked in at the lounge, changing to an earlier flight thanks to being on a flexible fare.

Thus ends my first longhaul trip in over two years. Hopefully the first of many more to come. Thanks for reading.