CHRISTCHURCH to WELLINGTON (CHC-WLG) on Pacific Blue 737-800 in economy class

Pacific Blue uses the same part of the domestic terminal as Qantas, thus when the flight was delayed I headed for the Qantas Club which I can use thanks to my status. According to the lounge staff, QF still plan to reintroduce CHC-WLG but no dates have been given.

A couple of Qantas flights came and went. The nice lounge agent let me know there was a further delay to the Pacific Blue flight (which I had determined from the not very user friendly Pacific Blue online arrival and departure page), and that she'd warn me when they were boarding (which she did ^).

It was still near freezing (early afternoon) and so I was glad that I boarded late enough that they'd stopped those seating in the rear from going down the stairs onto the tarmac. However, this did make for chaotic boarding as there is not enough room for someone boarding from the rear stairs to easily make their way forward past someone else boarding from the airbridge, at least once a high proportion of aisle seats had been taken. I'm sure this is not very efficient.

Another 100% full flight. A nonrev pax was seated in the exit row and had to disembark when the last passenger showed up.

We were over an hour late boarding and further delayed on getting out. We then seemed to have some delay before arriving in Wellington despite the theoretically straight in southerly approach, I think due to a lot of takeoffs and landings at the time.

We pulled into the end of pier gate, which is used for both international and domestic flights. So, despite having an airbridge we had a convoluted path into the terminal reminiscent of LHR (and commented on as such by an English couple in front of me). Narrow path to a zig-zag ramp down to ground level, down a corridor towards immigration, then along another corridor that ends abruptly at a locked door and forced up some stairs, to finally come out landside half way along the pier.