Flywithd
Active Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2009
- Posts
- 536
More Pictures on my Blog! Fly With Dinh 
To be completely honest with you guys, before I booked these tickets to Rarotonga, Cook Islands I had no idea where it was located or what to expect of Rarotonga but that didn't stop me from booking. There was a points mistake fare going around so I instantly put life to a halt while I searched and booked the fares which were in Premium Economy.
Quite a confusing itinerary.
I initially wanted to do a same day turn around but the timing in between the flight would of been under an hour and I didn't want to risk it so a day was dedicated to the Cook Islands. While booking the flights, multiple time zones were included hence I had to triple check every single detail and date was correct.
The flight was a morning flight departing Sydney so a positioning flight would be needed from Melbourne which meant I had to decide if I wanted to catch a 6am flight from Melbourne then connect to the International terminal or fly up a day earlier and stay overnight in Sydney.
If you guys went with option two then you're correct! Heres the review of a fabulous night at the Sofitel Wentworth.
After I located the check in counters at the airport, we made our way towards the priority line which was manned by a very attentive male staff member as he checked passenger entitlement and directed us to proceed into the purple lanes towards the check in desk.
It was a very efficient and quick check in as we handed our passports and in return received our boarding passes to Auckland as well as the Auckland to Rarotonga flights at the same time. There was speculations going around that it wasn't possible at the time but I was relived we received it for both flights. Wedged between boarding passes were express path passes which was a Godsend as the security lines were practically out the door.
Ready to rumble.
After clearing all required pitstops as well as the duty free complex we made our way towards the Koru lounge to relax and grab a bite to eat before the flight.
A shot of the lounge. It was busy but cosy.
First time seeing a A346 roll into the apron.
The buffet and food selection in the Koru lounge was more than adequate for the morning with selections of scrambled eggs, sausages, baked beans, hash browns as well as the cold items such as yoghurt and fruit.
Go hard or go home, DIY spirits and coughtails.
We decided to fill up as it was better to be safe than sorry flying VA across the ditch.
It was 15 minutes before boarding so we decided to head towards the gate 60 which was total chaos as a Korean air flight as well as Emirates was boarding at the same time, we eventually found seats to rest as I watched the blank screens and questioned why there wasn't any flight info on the screen until there was a gate change which was eventually announced 8 minutes before scheduled boarding time in which passengers were directed towards gate 55.
I watched on as countless passengers collected their belongings and pushed their way towards gate 55. It was like watching the salmon run only better because push did come to shove. After the masses had died down we made our way to gates 55 to see everyone seated patiently waiting for boarding. There would be a 15 minute delay and passengers were reminded to sit and wait while the gate agents prepared the purple signage and lanes for boarding.
One of the many Boeing 737-800's in Virgin Australia's new livery.
Before the gate agent could announce the standard "Ladies and Gentlemen, Virgin Australia would like to invite" there was already a queue forming up in the general boarding lane which twined around the corner and out the door. It was times like this that I was glad my status allowed to to jump the queue as I strolled down the purple lane with glances of frustration from other passengers.
To be completely honest with you guys, before I booked these tickets to Rarotonga, Cook Islands I had no idea where it was located or what to expect of Rarotonga but that didn't stop me from booking. There was a points mistake fare going around so I instantly put life to a halt while I searched and booked the fares which were in Premium Economy.
Quite a confusing itinerary.
I initially wanted to do a same day turn around but the timing in between the flight would of been under an hour and I didn't want to risk it so a day was dedicated to the Cook Islands. While booking the flights, multiple time zones were included hence I had to triple check every single detail and date was correct.
The flight was a morning flight departing Sydney so a positioning flight would be needed from Melbourne which meant I had to decide if I wanted to catch a 6am flight from Melbourne then connect to the International terminal or fly up a day earlier and stay overnight in Sydney.
If you guys went with option two then you're correct! Heres the review of a fabulous night at the Sofitel Wentworth.
After I located the check in counters at the airport, we made our way towards the priority line which was manned by a very attentive male staff member as he checked passenger entitlement and directed us to proceed into the purple lanes towards the check in desk.
It was a very efficient and quick check in as we handed our passports and in return received our boarding passes to Auckland as well as the Auckland to Rarotonga flights at the same time. There was speculations going around that it wasn't possible at the time but I was relived we received it for both flights. Wedged between boarding passes were express path passes which was a Godsend as the security lines were practically out the door.
Ready to rumble.
After clearing all required pitstops as well as the duty free complex we made our way towards the Koru lounge to relax and grab a bite to eat before the flight.
A shot of the lounge. It was busy but cosy.
First time seeing a A346 roll into the apron.
The buffet and food selection in the Koru lounge was more than adequate for the morning with selections of scrambled eggs, sausages, baked beans, hash browns as well as the cold items such as yoghurt and fruit.
Go hard or go home, DIY spirits and coughtails.
We decided to fill up as it was better to be safe than sorry flying VA across the ditch.
It was 15 minutes before boarding so we decided to head towards the gate 60 which was total chaos as a Korean air flight as well as Emirates was boarding at the same time, we eventually found seats to rest as I watched the blank screens and questioned why there wasn't any flight info on the screen until there was a gate change which was eventually announced 8 minutes before scheduled boarding time in which passengers were directed towards gate 55.
I watched on as countless passengers collected their belongings and pushed their way towards gate 55. It was like watching the salmon run only better because push did come to shove. After the masses had died down we made our way to gates 55 to see everyone seated patiently waiting for boarding. There would be a 15 minute delay and passengers were reminded to sit and wait while the gate agents prepared the purple signage and lanes for boarding.
One of the many Boeing 737-800's in Virgin Australia's new livery.
Before the gate agent could announce the standard "Ladies and Gentlemen, Virgin Australia would like to invite" there was already a queue forming up in the general boarding lane which twined around the corner and out the door. It was times like this that I was glad my status allowed to to jump the queue as I strolled down the purple lane with glances of frustration from other passengers.
and loved the place so much I'll be heading back over this coming new years with my new fiancee 
