- Joined
- Jul 17, 2004
- Posts
- 3,979
Hawkes Bay Nu Ziland was choice eh bro.
Another travel trip planned from what I read on the other board, a quick weekend trip to New Zealand, this time I didn’t stay with the relatives but I did ring them to say hi and tell them I was using their address for the arrivals card.
I booked the flights in different parts; Air New Zealand is heavily into promotion of their online bookings through www.airnz.co.nz and www.grabaseat.co.nz which is used for limited release of cheap domestic and trans tasman flights.
I ended up finding some cheap seats available on grabaseat to get me from Auckland to Napier and used the remaining of my Air NZ airpoints account to get from Napier back to Auckland.
I brought a cheap Qantas trans Tasman flight which was actually cheaper than Pacific Blue. I had been planning to catch the Lan A340 for a few years and luckily I was able to book a cheap business class fare out of Auckland back to Sydney and used some points to get from Sydney back to Brisbane on Qantas in business class.
10Dec QF125 BNE-AKL 734-400 ZK-JTS Dep 5:45PM 11C
I left work soon after 4:00pm with a quick trip to the airport; thanks to the new completed road works; which meant a 20 minute trip to Brisbane airport could now be done in 10 minutes to the international terminal. So I was at the airport quickly but then spent about 10 minutes looking for the check in desks; it’s been a few years since I departed Brisbane on a Qantas international flight. I was probably one of the last to check in and I was surprised that the check in person confirmed to make sure that exit row was ok. I had already filled out the outwards immigration card before getting to the terminal so it was down stairs through security and passport control. Australia for some reason likes to find out where we are traveling; why and for how long; I guess it keeps someone in a job and gives very good passenger movement data for airlines and the Australian government on where everybody is going.
After getting through passport control and customs I headed to the Qantas international lounge for a few drinks before my flight. The food options aren’t very good in the lounges but the beer was a good way to relax before my flight. Surprising the lounge was quite full as the lunch time departure of the Qantas flight to LA had been delayed over 5 hours. The LA flight had just been called so the lounge was almost empty by the time my flight was called.
The flight was called at 30 minutes before the flight departure which I thought was a little early I guess they wanted us out of the lounge so that the staff could clean up and go home. There are no evening Qantas departures once the Qantas flight to Auckland has departed.
The flight was more than 90% full I didn’t see many spare seats so I was lucky to have the legroom of the exit row.
The aircraft is a New Zealand registered aircraft with New Zealand cabin crew. Qantas stopped flying on New Zealand domestic market but Qantas NZ(Jetconnect) still operate the trans Tasman flights on the 737s.
The flight got underway on time with the standard safety briefing. The usual 12 channel audio system was running with a movie to be played on the 3 hour journey across the Tasman. The flight was pleasant; with a nice meal; the movie was good; and the New Zealand cabin crew were friendly and efficient.
We arrived in Auckland on schedule just before midnight. For the first time I got directed to use an epassport machine; which scans your passport; takes a picture of you then the gate opens up and lets you through. The bag came off the carousel quickly; I had to check it in as I was carrying liquids. Yes you can buy coke in New Zealand but I wasn’t going to have time to stop by a supermarket to collect some, and I knew that our host would appreciate the gift.
Another FT member Anat0l was waiting for me as I came out to the general arrivals area. As we had both arrived late, we would camp out at the international terminal. We heard some good things about the Auckland International Airport; Nice 4 seaters without arm rests; perfect to lie down and get some sleep for a few hours before the usual airport noise of departing flights and missing passengers generally starts after 5:00am. I had brought with me a Jetstar blanket that I had found on a previous flight; the Qantas one on the flight over would have been better as it was thicker but I had come prepared so no need to get greedy and grab a better version.
I probably got about 3 hours sleep and as the airport started to wake up we got up packed up and headed over to the Air New Zealand domestic terminal about 10 minutes walk away.
11Dec NZ8411 AKL-NPE Dash8-300 ZK-NEF Dep 9:30AM 1D
New Zealand domestic check in is probably the best in the world. You are directed to a circle of check in machines; where you check in and print off your own boarding pass and baggage tag; Instructions are given on how to use the baggage tag which you then put on the carousel yourself. There is an attendant watching but if you can do it yourself then there is no need for assistance. I had read “check-in is hardly even check in anymore. I would say it’s more of a fly-through drop off!” which is exactly right.
As Anat0l had Star Alliance Gold status we were able to use the Air NZ domestic lounge; where we were able to get a shower and some breakfast. After about 2 hours in the lounge our flight was called and we went downstairs to the Air NZ link gates.
2 boarding passes scanners are used to check passengers through then you walk along an undercover walk way to your plane. Plane was about 60% full and we had the first row to ourselves. On the flight down to Napier we were served a cup of water then another cup for a hot beverage with a cookie was served. Tea and coffee were available. The cups show one of Air NZ 27 domestic destinations and surprisingly the destination featured on todays cup was Napier.
Napier.
Will met us both when we arrived into Napier being the first 2 off the plane and then headed into town to play some mini golf and then sat around for a few hours waiting the others to turn up. I had last been to Napier 29 years ago and the only thing I remember was that I played mini golf.
Dinner at East Pier was nice; the chips were good with a good selection of wine or beer.
We all woke up early with a heavy schedule of events, a visit to a honey shop, cheese shop for a snack and then onto a winery for lunch. Then we did a quick tour of the town and went up to a lookout.
Saturday night dinner was at Elephant Hill; the wine and food was good but with one important thing missing off the menu. Fortunately a nice elderly gentleman with a borrowed motor vehicle kindly picked some up for Will(he has a strange diet) from the local fush and chup shop - just seconds shy of the 8pm closing time.
Sunday was another busy schedule with a stop off at the local chocolate factory and wine tasting at 2 more wineries, a wine tour fitted in there somewhere.
13Dec NZ8418 NPE-AKL Dash8-300 ZK-NET Dep 6:50PM 9C
After a great weekend it was back to the airport where the 3 of us checked in. The Star Alliance Gold member in our group got a seat in row 1 while I and the other person got seats in row 9. I was happy to get a different part of the plane so I kept my seat. Star Alliance Gold gets lounge access without guests in New Zealand regional airports; but I guess once one of your friends has the Star Gold card which you swipe then give you the access to the non attended lounge. A kitchen/cleaner type person must come past every so often to refill the fridge and do a general tidy up.
After a few beers and a browse of the free wifi the plane landed and it was time to head to the gate. The service was exactly the same as the way down; this time the cups featured Wellington.
14Dec LA801 AKL-SYD A340-300 CC-CQE Dep 5:50AM 1C
Getting up at 3:30am to catch an international flight at 5:50am is no fun especially when it’s really 12:30am back home and I was planning at being at work by 11:00am.
Shower, pack and down stairs for the shuttle at 4:00am wasn’t so bad; I guess at that hour your mind is on autopilot so you just do it.
A shuttle bus arrived at 4:00am to take us to the airport where we checked in filled out a departure card and then go through passport control and security. New Zealand like Australia likes to keep track of everyone
We went to the Qantas lounge; who can drink or eat anything at that hour I have no idea; so I just had a juice. The flight was called rather early almost 45 minutes early; but this gave me enough time to buy some New Zealand chocolate bars before boarding the flight.
We were on the plane by 5:30am and then it was almost 30 minutes before we pushed back; there was a preflight drink; I think I just had the water. The seats were good with a good legroom especially in the first row. The Lan flight has to cabins for business class a 5 row front section and 2 row in a separate section which on this flight was empty.
From some advertising blurb which I guess is the best way to sum it up.
LAN has completed the reconfiguration of its new long haul aircraft fleet with a two class cabin featuring a totally new business class offering and a restyled economy class;
42 sleeper seats with 180 degree full flat recline, a spacious 74 inches of legroom between each seat and access to an all-new video on demand system, featuring 44 movies, including the most recent blockbuster and more than 90 TV programs from all over the world;
We were served a breakfast on this flight across the Tasman.
Express Breakfast
To start
Orange Juice, tea or coffee
Yoghurt and cereal
Fresh seasonal fruit
Croissant, white bread; whole wheat bread, toast and water crackers, with butter and preserves
Main dishes
Fresh omelette with mushroom ragout and roasted tomato
Or
Variety of hams and cheese
Full wine menu was available and spirits. Didn’t even go and look at that list.
Lan Chile was named as the “Best Airline in South America” in the 2008 and 2009 Skytrax awards for airline excellences, LAN and its allilliate airlines servce more than 50 South American destinations, from the hub airports of Santiago in Chile.
Movies were in both English and Spanish; my first choice wasn’t available so I watched my 2nd choice; which I think was called Post Grad; which had not even been released in Australia yet.
The cabin crew was friendly with good English, the food and the service was good and the IFE was of a high standard.
We were late departing Auckland and never made up any time and so were late arriving into Sydney.
14Dec QF516 SYD-BNE 767-338 VH-OGL Dep 10:05AM 2J
After going through passport control, had to do it twice as I left the form somewhere and then through customs(baggage inspection) which was easy even after I declared the food I had with me; it was over to the Qantas domestic check in which is part of the International terminal. You are checked in and then go through security and wait for a bus to take you over to the domestic terminal.
The flight was fairly routine with a mid morning snack; the usual 12 channel radio with overhead screens showing the morning news and a short feature program.
It was a very pleasant weekend, a new airport; Napier; a new airline Lan Chile and a new aircraft type A340-300. It was a very pleasant weekend with a great group of friends who I have all met before but now in a different part of the world.
The things I saw on this trip meant that I had to plan a trip back to New Zealand,
Another travel trip planned from what I read on the other board, a quick weekend trip to New Zealand, this time I didn’t stay with the relatives but I did ring them to say hi and tell them I was using their address for the arrivals card.
I booked the flights in different parts; Air New Zealand is heavily into promotion of their online bookings through www.airnz.co.nz and www.grabaseat.co.nz which is used for limited release of cheap domestic and trans tasman flights.
I ended up finding some cheap seats available on grabaseat to get me from Auckland to Napier and used the remaining of my Air NZ airpoints account to get from Napier back to Auckland.
I brought a cheap Qantas trans Tasman flight which was actually cheaper than Pacific Blue. I had been planning to catch the Lan A340 for a few years and luckily I was able to book a cheap business class fare out of Auckland back to Sydney and used some points to get from Sydney back to Brisbane on Qantas in business class.
10Dec QF125 BNE-AKL 734-400 ZK-JTS Dep 5:45PM 11C
I left work soon after 4:00pm with a quick trip to the airport; thanks to the new completed road works; which meant a 20 minute trip to Brisbane airport could now be done in 10 minutes to the international terminal. So I was at the airport quickly but then spent about 10 minutes looking for the check in desks; it’s been a few years since I departed Brisbane on a Qantas international flight. I was probably one of the last to check in and I was surprised that the check in person confirmed to make sure that exit row was ok. I had already filled out the outwards immigration card before getting to the terminal so it was down stairs through security and passport control. Australia for some reason likes to find out where we are traveling; why and for how long; I guess it keeps someone in a job and gives very good passenger movement data for airlines and the Australian government on where everybody is going.
After getting through passport control and customs I headed to the Qantas international lounge for a few drinks before my flight. The food options aren’t very good in the lounges but the beer was a good way to relax before my flight. Surprising the lounge was quite full as the lunch time departure of the Qantas flight to LA had been delayed over 5 hours. The LA flight had just been called so the lounge was almost empty by the time my flight was called.
The flight was called at 30 minutes before the flight departure which I thought was a little early I guess they wanted us out of the lounge so that the staff could clean up and go home. There are no evening Qantas departures once the Qantas flight to Auckland has departed.
The flight was more than 90% full I didn’t see many spare seats so I was lucky to have the legroom of the exit row.
The aircraft is a New Zealand registered aircraft with New Zealand cabin crew. Qantas stopped flying on New Zealand domestic market but Qantas NZ(Jetconnect) still operate the trans Tasman flights on the 737s.
The flight got underway on time with the standard safety briefing. The usual 12 channel audio system was running with a movie to be played on the 3 hour journey across the Tasman. The flight was pleasant; with a nice meal; the movie was good; and the New Zealand cabin crew were friendly and efficient.
We arrived in Auckland on schedule just before midnight. For the first time I got directed to use an epassport machine; which scans your passport; takes a picture of you then the gate opens up and lets you through. The bag came off the carousel quickly; I had to check it in as I was carrying liquids. Yes you can buy coke in New Zealand but I wasn’t going to have time to stop by a supermarket to collect some, and I knew that our host would appreciate the gift.
Another FT member Anat0l was waiting for me as I came out to the general arrivals area. As we had both arrived late, we would camp out at the international terminal. We heard some good things about the Auckland International Airport; Nice 4 seaters without arm rests; perfect to lie down and get some sleep for a few hours before the usual airport noise of departing flights and missing passengers generally starts after 5:00am. I had brought with me a Jetstar blanket that I had found on a previous flight; the Qantas one on the flight over would have been better as it was thicker but I had come prepared so no need to get greedy and grab a better version.
I probably got about 3 hours sleep and as the airport started to wake up we got up packed up and headed over to the Air New Zealand domestic terminal about 10 minutes walk away.
11Dec NZ8411 AKL-NPE Dash8-300 ZK-NEF Dep 9:30AM 1D
New Zealand domestic check in is probably the best in the world. You are directed to a circle of check in machines; where you check in and print off your own boarding pass and baggage tag; Instructions are given on how to use the baggage tag which you then put on the carousel yourself. There is an attendant watching but if you can do it yourself then there is no need for assistance. I had read “check-in is hardly even check in anymore. I would say it’s more of a fly-through drop off!” which is exactly right.
As Anat0l had Star Alliance Gold status we were able to use the Air NZ domestic lounge; where we were able to get a shower and some breakfast. After about 2 hours in the lounge our flight was called and we went downstairs to the Air NZ link gates.
2 boarding passes scanners are used to check passengers through then you walk along an undercover walk way to your plane. Plane was about 60% full and we had the first row to ourselves. On the flight down to Napier we were served a cup of water then another cup for a hot beverage with a cookie was served. Tea and coffee were available. The cups show one of Air NZ 27 domestic destinations and surprisingly the destination featured on todays cup was Napier.
Napier.
Will met us both when we arrived into Napier being the first 2 off the plane and then headed into town to play some mini golf and then sat around for a few hours waiting the others to turn up. I had last been to Napier 29 years ago and the only thing I remember was that I played mini golf.
Dinner at East Pier was nice; the chips were good with a good selection of wine or beer.
We all woke up early with a heavy schedule of events, a visit to a honey shop, cheese shop for a snack and then onto a winery for lunch. Then we did a quick tour of the town and went up to a lookout.
Saturday night dinner was at Elephant Hill; the wine and food was good but with one important thing missing off the menu. Fortunately a nice elderly gentleman with a borrowed motor vehicle kindly picked some up for Will(he has a strange diet) from the local fush and chup shop - just seconds shy of the 8pm closing time.
Sunday was another busy schedule with a stop off at the local chocolate factory and wine tasting at 2 more wineries, a wine tour fitted in there somewhere.
13Dec NZ8418 NPE-AKL Dash8-300 ZK-NET Dep 6:50PM 9C
After a great weekend it was back to the airport where the 3 of us checked in. The Star Alliance Gold member in our group got a seat in row 1 while I and the other person got seats in row 9. I was happy to get a different part of the plane so I kept my seat. Star Alliance Gold gets lounge access without guests in New Zealand regional airports; but I guess once one of your friends has the Star Gold card which you swipe then give you the access to the non attended lounge. A kitchen/cleaner type person must come past every so often to refill the fridge and do a general tidy up.
After a few beers and a browse of the free wifi the plane landed and it was time to head to the gate. The service was exactly the same as the way down; this time the cups featured Wellington.
14Dec LA801 AKL-SYD A340-300 CC-CQE Dep 5:50AM 1C
Getting up at 3:30am to catch an international flight at 5:50am is no fun especially when it’s really 12:30am back home and I was planning at being at work by 11:00am.
Shower, pack and down stairs for the shuttle at 4:00am wasn’t so bad; I guess at that hour your mind is on autopilot so you just do it.
A shuttle bus arrived at 4:00am to take us to the airport where we checked in filled out a departure card and then go through passport control and security. New Zealand like Australia likes to keep track of everyone
We went to the Qantas lounge; who can drink or eat anything at that hour I have no idea; so I just had a juice. The flight was called rather early almost 45 minutes early; but this gave me enough time to buy some New Zealand chocolate bars before boarding the flight.
We were on the plane by 5:30am and then it was almost 30 minutes before we pushed back; there was a preflight drink; I think I just had the water. The seats were good with a good legroom especially in the first row. The Lan flight has to cabins for business class a 5 row front section and 2 row in a separate section which on this flight was empty.
From some advertising blurb which I guess is the best way to sum it up.
LAN has completed the reconfiguration of its new long haul aircraft fleet with a two class cabin featuring a totally new business class offering and a restyled economy class;
42 sleeper seats with 180 degree full flat recline, a spacious 74 inches of legroom between each seat and access to an all-new video on demand system, featuring 44 movies, including the most recent blockbuster and more than 90 TV programs from all over the world;
We were served a breakfast on this flight across the Tasman.
Express Breakfast
To start
Orange Juice, tea or coffee
Yoghurt and cereal
Fresh seasonal fruit
Croissant, white bread; whole wheat bread, toast and water crackers, with butter and preserves
Main dishes
Fresh omelette with mushroom ragout and roasted tomato
Or
Variety of hams and cheese
Full wine menu was available and spirits. Didn’t even go and look at that list.
Lan Chile was named as the “Best Airline in South America” in the 2008 and 2009 Skytrax awards for airline excellences, LAN and its allilliate airlines servce more than 50 South American destinations, from the hub airports of Santiago in Chile.
Movies were in both English and Spanish; my first choice wasn’t available so I watched my 2nd choice; which I think was called Post Grad; which had not even been released in Australia yet.
The cabin crew was friendly with good English, the food and the service was good and the IFE was of a high standard.
We were late departing Auckland and never made up any time and so were late arriving into Sydney.
14Dec QF516 SYD-BNE 767-338 VH-OGL Dep 10:05AM 2J
After going through passport control, had to do it twice as I left the form somewhere and then through customs(baggage inspection) which was easy even after I declared the food I had with me; it was over to the Qantas domestic check in which is part of the International terminal. You are checked in and then go through security and wait for a bus to take you over to the domestic terminal.
The flight was fairly routine with a mid morning snack; the usual 12 channel radio with overhead screens showing the morning news and a short feature program.
It was a very pleasant weekend, a new airport; Napier; a new airline Lan Chile and a new aircraft type A340-300. It was a very pleasant weekend with a great group of friends who I have all met before but now in a different part of the world.
The things I saw on this trip meant that I had to plan a trip back to New Zealand,
