1st Flight: NZ476, WLG-AKL
Equipment: 733.
Just a short 1hour journey up to Auckland., we were unable to through check our bags to Glasgow as the situation with the fog in London was pretty drastic, still not to worry, hopefully things will be fine by the time we get there I thought. After check in we made our way to the Koru Club lounge. Every time I go in this lounge Im very impressed with the range of beers on offer. I thought it would be rude of me not to partake so I dually obliged.
Flight departed & arrived on time, nothing really noteworthy to mention. Got offered the usual tea/coffee/water & a cookie on NZ domestic flights.
After arrival into Auckland we got on the courtesy bus between the domestic & international terminal.
2nd flight: NZ2, AKL-LHR via LAX.
Equipment: 772
After arrival at the international terminal we went to pay the NZ$25 departure fee before heading through security. Security was a breeze & we were soon airside. Done a bit of duty free shopping before heading to the Koru Club lounge where I enjoyed some more refreshments before departure.
Flight was pretty much full except the lady in front of us had 3 seats to herself. The girl who sat in our row of 3 asked a member of the crew if it would be ok to move into that row. The crew member gave the green light & she moved, however the lady in that row was none to impressed & said she had an agreement with Air NZ that she would have 3 seats to herself & then refused to let the girl sit there. She was asked if she paid for 3 seats, which she hadnt, she was then basically told where to go & the girl sat next to her. Was quite funny really.
Flights departed pretty much on time & soon after take off dinner & drinks were served. I cant remember what I had for dinner but I do know it was absolutely delicious & probably the best airline meal I had. After dinner I watched a bit of the TV from the AVOD before dosing on & off for roughly 5hrs.
About 2hrs before landing breakfast was served. I had the French toast with bacon & a side of maple syrup. Again it was impressive.
Arrived in LAX on schedule & aside from premium pax we were 1 of the first to get off & in the queue to clear U.S. Customs before being holed up in the transit lounge.
The NZ based crew on this leg done a great job & are a credit to Air NZ.
This was my 1st time going to LHR via LAX from NZ & we were dreading the transit lounge after the horror stories weve heard. In truth it was fine & I fail to see what the big deal is about it. I know we were pretty swift off, but I kept an eye on the U.S customs queue & it disappeared pretty quickly. In the transit lounge self service & complimentary soft drinks, fruit, biscuits & crisps are available (is that a new thing?) & if you read a good book then the 1.5hrs that youre in the lounge for really do go by quickly. I certainly would have no qualms about doing this again.
The flight was then called for boarding. Unfortunately this time there was not a seat to be had in the house. Our seat buddy was a very chatty & pleasant Yank lady who was also going to the UK to surprise her mother & father for Xmas.
Again dinner & drinks where served shortly after takeoff. Again the food was pretty good, the 1 thing that annoyed me was that when asked what I wanted for dinner & I got a glass of coke instead of the can, I asked for the whole can & the guy was happy enough to give me it. This wasnt the case on the LAX leg where the whole can without asking.
I dosed on & off for a couple of hours after dinner & when I was fully awake I listened to some music & watched a flick. In what seemed like no time at all we were 2hrs from LHR & breakfast was being served. Again I went for the French toast & bacon.
Arrival into Heathrow was on time & the good news was that the fog had improved sufficiently so I was pretty sure our flight to GLA wouldnt have any problems. We breezed through passport control, the priority tagging worked a treat & our bags came off 1st, we then went through customs & over to T1 in less than an hour after initially getting off the plane.
Overall this flight was superb, we were comfortable, and especially the wife, crew on the 1st leg different class, crew on 2nd leg not as good but they still get thumbs up. I thoroughly recommend Air NZs economy product.
Now the home straight;
BD6, LHR-GLA
Equipment: A320
Used our Gold upgrade vouchers at check in to upgrade to business class. Check in was quick, getting through security was also quick & we were soon in the Diamond club lounge. Our flight was on time; in fact it left 5mins early. Was offered turkey & all the trimmings for lunch, was ok, nothing special. Arrival into Glasgow was early & by this point we were really exited about turning up unexpected on our families doorstep.
Well, thats my 1st TR. There will be another 1 on the way in the next day or 2 about our return journey.
