After three days in Auckland with a visit to Waiheke Island one of the days it was time to continue.
Next stop: The land down under and Sydney!

Air New Zealand premium check-in room and lounge, Auckland

Upon entering the international terminal at Auckland airport I immediately noticed the signs for the premium check-in area.
Air New Zealand actually has a separate check-in room for premium passengers, yes it’s actually a room and not a part of the main departure hall.
Right after check-in there is a dedicated passport control, followed by an escalator straight to the security check. Great service!!
New Zealand is also one of the remaining countries where you have to pay the airport tax at the airport (never included in the ticket), but as a premium passenger you can pay the tax in the premium check-in room (other passengers have to go to one of the banks at the airport to pay it).

Check-in was swift in the premium room and I paid the departure tax there as well, however nobody told me I had to complete a departure card, so I was stopped at passport control and had to go back to do that before I was allowed to proceed to security.

I made my way to the Air New Zealand lounge on the first floor above the transit hall, a bit tricky to find actually, but I was told at check-in to turn right immediately after Tie Rack, and that certainly helped.
The lounge was very nice, but very crowded this Friday afternoon.
Lots to eat and drink as well, this afternoon they had roast beef, pasta salad, scones and berry muffins for example. Plenty to drink as well including a very good selection of soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits.
I know the Kiwis here at FT tend to count the number of wines and beers available when passing Air NZ lounges, I actually did the same but forgot to write it down afterwards. The numbers were impressive though!
They also had several internet computers in the lounge with free internet, always appreciated!

Pics
The International departure hall at Auckland airport
The entrance to the Air New Zealand premium check-in room
The entrance to the Air New Zealand lounge
Inside the lounge
View from the lounge

Auckland-Sydney, flight NZ 105 operated by Air New Zealand
Departure: 16:30
Arrival: 17:00
Aircraft: Boeing 747 (aircraft change from Boeing 767)
Class: Business Premier (cabin change from the old business class )
Seat: 02A

I left the lounge 45 minutes before departure and headed to the gate.
At the gate I was a little surprised to see a Boeing 747 parked outside the window, my booking confirmation said the flight would be operated by a Boeing 767 and that’s what Expertflyer indicated the evening before as well.
For a moment I thought they might take us to the aircraft by bus (i.e. to a remote stand), but as I was curious I went to one of the gate agents to ask.
The guy confirmed the aircraft at the gate was indeed ours, there had been a last minute aircraft change.
I told him I was in business class and asked if that meant Business Premier onboard, and he answered “yes, it’s lie-flat for you this afternoon!”.
Awesome!! Another flight in Business Premier, and on a Boeing 747 this time!
When I thought about it I realised I would actually cover the entire fleet of Air NZ on this trip (propeller planes excluded though). Gives a hint of what to come…

Boarding started 20 minutes before departure with priority boarding for business class passengers and Star Alliance gold.
Once onboard I turned left and found my seat at the very front of the cabin. I got to keep the same seat number (several people got new boarding passes at the gate), but on the Boeing 747 seat 02A meant at the nose of the plane, I had never actually tried that before.
After having found my seat I was greeted by a male flight attendant and was offered newspapers and a pre-departure drink.

Business Premier was not full onboard, not very surprising considering they had expected a Boeing 767 to fly us to Sydney, a significantly smaller plane. But few people onboard usually means better service!
Several people onboard were very surprised ending up in Business Premier and were absolutely delighted about the aircraft change. There was a Swiss couple onboard I talked to and they said it was the most comfortable flight on their entire trip (they seemed to have flown business class from Europe to NZ, not sure which airline though). They even asked a flight attendant to take photos of them in the seat.

Due to the aircraft change (the original aircraft had mechanical problems) and the extra work needed at the gate to issue several new boarding passes, we pushed back 20 minutes late but were told we would still make it to Sydney on time due to favourable weather conditions.

Pics
Our Boeing 747 at the gate in Auckland, very nice aircraft change!!
The International terminal seen from the plane as we taxi to the runway
The Business Premier cabin onboard the Boeing 747
No lack of leg room in Business Premier

Meal service

Onboard the plane they served a three courses meal with appetizer, main course, cheese and dessert. A full bar service was also available with two reds, two whites, spirits and soft drinks.
I have to say I am very impressed by the Air New Zealand inflight service on shorthaul flights.
New Zealand-Australia is roughly three hours, and on these flights they offer a three courses meal with a choice of three main courses, and all dishes are served separately.
Comparing that to some flights I have taken in Europe in business class with a similar or slightly shorter flight time you usually get the whole meal served on a small tray, and you’ll be happy to even get a choice of main course.
So this was a very positive surprise!!

Here is the menu to Sydney:

The meal service was very nice with friendly and attentive service, I had the chicken to eat which was quite OK.
After the meal I ordered a cup of coffee and a glass of Chivas Regal.

Pics
Appetizer
Main course
Dessert
Coffee and Chivas Regal

When the meal service was over I watched the movie Poseidon through the AVOD inflight entertainment system and I also listened to some music (they had ABBA Gold available for example), but all too soon we started our descent to Sydney.

We landed in Sydney right on time at 5 pm, despite the delay in Auckland.
I enjoyed a great view of the beaches around Sydney during the approach, but the weather was not really appropriate to go to the beach.
It was 17 degrees in the air, and grey and rainy, not the weather you’d expect in Australia in the middle of October.
It was actually raining during most of our descent, and it was quite interesting that I could hear the rain hitting the nose of the plane (as I said I was sitting at the very front).

At the terminal business class passengers were allowed to get off first and I was one of the first to reach immigration which was completely empty.
Baggage delivery started fairly quickly with the priority-tagged luggage first on the belt, these things seem to work well in the Pacific region as well!
Just like in New Zealand I had my luggage x-rayed before I was allowed to enter the arrivals hall, this in order to prevent prohibited items (food, plants etc) brought into Australia.

Pics
We are approaching Sydney as you can see on the flight map
Nice view of the beaches around Sydney during the approach