Check in was quick, efficient and very friendly ! This may partly be due to the fact that Air New Zealand does their own ground handling in Auckland, rather than contracting it out. This meant that the ground staff had a very comprehensive knowledge of the aircraft, and when asking for an exit row seat (for the extra leg room) was able to get it for the AKL-LAX sector, but the LAX-LHR sector was already booked by another passenger.Bags went through without any hassle despite
being 6kgs over the 20kg weight limit. Collected both my boarding passes and headed up to the departures area.
Leaving Auckland can be a hassle at certain times of the day however at this time, most flights had already left and so the were very few queues. Auckland has gone for a very strange layout as to depart you walk through the shops, as is the norm at many airports, but then proceed up escalators to some more shops, and then 'drop down' into your gate lounge, with arriving passengers weaving through various glass passages to the baggage claim area.
The aircraft was boarded by row number, with children, and anyone wanting assistance boarding first along with premium, koru club, and gold members. I was in the 3rd section to be boarded and noticed no-one had boarded in the front sections yet. When boarding was complete and the doors closed, we had to wait 5 minutes as we boarded much faster than expected and were 15 mins early. Despite this though, the front sections were full. Now, a trick for not-so-frequent flyers, try to book seats near the back, as they traditionally fill from the front, and the back section was only half full. This meant that everyone except couples quickly moved to free rows, to get a decent few hours sleep.
The new seats on Air New Zealand have a nice soft fabric, with the headrest 'wings' that many travelers enjoy (giving varying levels of support), and a 9 inchtelevision set(yes in economy!)with a brand new 450 hours of tv and movies to complement an existing selection along with kids sections, CD's, and the most advanced interactive map of the flight I have ever seen with many different views. Another interesting thing was the quality of the headphones, as they did not seem the usual aircraft quality, but almost like something you might actually (gasp) buy!
Upon pushback the cabin crew introduced themselves, and took everyones coat, placed them in a locker, and gave everyone an orange squeeze juice. The safety video was then played which was actually very soothing, and ended quickly. The captain then came on, introduced himself and gave information about the flight, then followed by the In-flight Manager who did the same, and gave some information about herself making the crew seem much more approachable, and then the cabin crew checked each passenger was strapped in, and answered any questions that we may have had before taking their seats for the flight.
Upon takeoff the In flight entertainment was turned on 20 minutes after departure and the arrival cards, and meal cards were handed out, showing the two meals: dinner and breakfast, with dinner being served with premium New Zealand ice cream, and breakfast with fresh fruit in either meal option. They then opened the bar with a very wide selection of New Zealand and International wines and beers.
Finally(just about to get back on the plane) is the service! These guys really know how to spoil even us economites, you can go back and talk to them, ask them anything, and they take it all in their stride and with a smile on their face, they really do prefer to talk to you and check on each passenger and ensure their flight is going well and ask if there is anything they can do rather than just stand at the back and talk amongst themselves. This flight really does suit their new branding........ Amazing Journeys. Every Day
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Apr 26th, 2007
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