ryan h From Australia, joined Aug 2001, 1451 posts, RR: 1 Posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 5 days 17 hours ago) and read 11165 times:
This trip came about as we had done England to death, been there four times now. been across to Amsterdam twice and Frankfurt once. We felt it was getting time for another big overseas trip, but wanted to give England and Europe a rest, now where do you go next?.
So after a fellow aircraft enthusiast in Adelaide went to Canada, thought hmm haven't been there yet.
At first it was looking like it would be a pain in the backside to get there as it would involve either Sydney or Los Angeles. Transferred from domestic to international going to New Zealand a few years ago in Sydney. Was not a pleasant experience and dad has been through Los Angeles, he said it was a nightmare, so was hoping to avoid those if we could. It was not looking good as the various airlines went through those places.
Then I thought 'hang on, Air New Zealand fly to Vancouver from Auckland', there is also a Air New Zealand flight from Adelaide to Auckland so that cuts out the bottlenecks of Sydney and Los Angeles. Just a transit stop for a couple of hours in Auckland, since we will only be in transit, no need to go through customs etc until Vancouver.
The decision was made.
Dad booked the flights on the net and we decided to pay a bit more since it was a long flight and from previous experience, economy can get a bit uncomfortable. However business class was just too expensive.
Air New Zealand have premium economy which appears to me as a halfway house between economy and business. Better seat, bit more room etc. Not as much as full business class, but more room than standard economy. So that’s what we went with.
Hopefully the 747 that was shown to be operating the flight at time of booking is still operating the flight and we get the upstairs seats we requested, also at the time of booking. never been upstairs on a 747 before.
A look at the schedule shows the aircraft is now a 777-200. And a phone call to Air New Zealand yielded more bad news, the seats that were allocated to us are middle seats, in the block of three in the center of the aircraft.
Dad will try again later to try and at least get a window seat.
Return fares ended up being AU$7,300. Yes I know the tight wads out there are saying you paid too much, but I am not being stuffed into an inhumane economy seat for 13-14 hours
Over time car hire, accommodation etc will be sorted out. Some flights on floatplanes will be organized.
Plus a side trip to Wellington on the way back, that's for another installment.
Adelaide to Auckland
Date: Friday 29 July 2011
Flight: NZ792
Seat: 6F
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232
Registration: ZK-OJH
The big day has finally arrived.
Check in at T1 Adelaide airport was painless. As we were worried about not having a window seat for the Auckland to Vancouver leg, we were able to secure a window seat for that leg as well. So far so good.
Security was no hassles either, too early for customs just yet.
Spent some time in the domestic part of the terminal watching some of the comings and goings. Saw the new Qantas 737-800 with prostate cancer foundation of Australia titles.
Not long after that left, the Air New Zealand flight landed. Today it is ZK-OJH star alliance.
After that arrived it was time for customs. Typically Australian, minimum staff and long queues. More staff standing around doing nothing than working.
Boarding was a bit slow. There always the few stragglers that dribble in late.
Last time I flew on an air new Zealand A320 was in 2006, since then they have been fitted with PTVs and new black cloth seats.
Meal choices were either beef casserole with mashed potato or cold chicken breast and potato salad. Dad and I went for the beef, which was nothing special but wasn't crap either.
At the moment, there is nothing but night outside, so after the meal let's see if I can sleep.
Choices for the main meal were:
Starter:
Kawakawa cured salmon with potato and chive salad
Main:
Braised beef casserole with kumara mash
New Zealand snapper in yuzu braised fennel
Pancetta wrapped chicken thigh
Dessert:
Apricot and almond cake
Dad and I went for the beef, which was not bad. Filled the gap until breakfast.
Then came the hard bit, trying to sleep. I was able to cat nap, but poor dad got none. No matter how much I squirmed and wriggled in the seat, I could not get comfortable enough to nod off into a deep sleep, despite premium economy seats reclining further than the regular economy seat.
Had one of the F/As take a photo of me sat in a business class seat. The seat was comfortable, but I think I would hurt my neck if I tried to look out the window.
CXB77L From Australia, joined Feb 2009, 2216 posts, RR: 4 Reply 1, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 9109 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Nice trip report, Ryan. Shame you missed out on getting the upper deck of a 747.
Quoting ryan h (Thread starter): Then I thought 'hang on, Air New Zealand fly to Vancouver from Auckland', there is also a Air New Zealand flight from Adelaide to Auckland so that cuts out the bottlenecks of Sydney and Los Angeles. Just a transit stop for a couple of hours in Auckland, since we will only be in transit, no need to go through customs etc until Vancouver.
It seems to be the "forgotten" option for flights from Australia to US/Canada. Before I booked on NZ to YVR I had considered flying QF/AC via SYD and CX via HKG before it clicked that NZ is another option. I was glad I chose NZ in the end.
How did you find the cabin crew on that flight? The cabin crew on the flight I was on was nothing short of exemplary, nothing was too much trouble for them.
Quoting ryan h (Thread starter): got a chance to take a photo of the flight deck after landing.
Nice. The 777 is my favourite aircraft, but I have yet to have a chance to visit the flight deck, although I did get to visit the 744 flight deck on my return from YVR (for which I didn't do a trip report).
ryan h From Australia, joined Aug 2001, 1451 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (1 year 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 8925 times:
Quoting CXB77L (Reply 1): How did you find the cabin crew on that flight? The cabin crew on the flight I was on was nothing short of exemplary, nothing was too much trouble for them.
The crew on my flight were very friendly and helpful. Was one of the flight attendants who suggest I have my photo taken in the business class seat.
Also wearing an Air New Zealand t shirt probably helps.
ACDC8 From Canada, joined Mar 2005, 7598 posts, RR: 40 Reply 4, posted (1 year 8 months 1 week 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 6173 times:
Great report. I keep wanting to do the Vancouver - Auckland trip on NZ but keep ending up going to Europe as well. Maybe next year, but then again thats what I said last year and the year before and the year before ...
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