10/01/2007 NZ5052 ZQN-CHC
10/01/2007 NZ556 CHC-AKL
10/01/2007 NZ8 AKL-CHC
Firstly, I have to start with a little bit about the Kiwi isles. NZ really is a magnificent country for many reasons. Scenery, culture, wildlife and adventure sports We have had one of the finest holidays that we will experience and I wholly recommend a visit to all...[y]
To get back on track
We had changed our itinerary a few days previously to reduce our driving distance in the South island by 600kms. Originally we were planning to fly CHC-AKL-SFO once our time had ended in NZ. A couple of days into New Zealand, we had mutually decided that we were planning to spend too much time in our Hertz prison cell and modification to our intended path was required. We decided to fly back to AKL from Queenstown to save driving back to Christchurch.
Expertflyer provided the bad news showing all ZQN-AKL sectors were full in our fare bucket meaning some pretty hefty fees for changing our route to Auckland. A quick visit to the GE website confirmed we had enough mileage left in our routing to add on a ZQN-CHC sector which would only incur a $50NZD charge. Result!![:D]
The extra leg was booked over the phone by a very professional member of NZ reservations and very straight forward experience indeed. A quick visit to an Air New Zealand ticketing outlet was the only requirement to get our ticket re-issued.
This is where the efficiency came crashing down. We attempted this at Rotorua, Christchurch airport after taking a 50km diversion (Both Domestic and International terminals) and Dunedin. All required our tickets to be left with them for 2-3 days!!! This was time we didnt have in those locations unfortunately. [n]
Previously, I have had tickets re-issued by other airlines in 10-15 minutes, NZ seemed to be making hard work of potentially a very simple task.
Finally after visiting an Air New Zealand travel shop in Queenstown we completed the mission. I have to say, the service we received face to face was completely inadequate and a huge turn-off. The guy who served us at Christchurch International terminal had false teeth and kept chattering them as he spoke to us, it was very amusing as well as completely frustrating in the process. The agent in Queenstown was only interested in trying to re-sell us new tickets for ZQN-CHC at a higher price before finally re-issuing our original tickets after our insistence.
With the ticket trauma resolved, we found ourselves walking through the doors and into Queenstowns primitive terminal for our departure to San Francisco.
Five Air New Zealand agents were all dealing with passengers serving all routes offered on their network. A quick 5-10 minute queue followed and we were called forward for service. The agent greeted us politely and with a big smile on her face.
Upon asking our destination, the agents face soon dropped when she realised that we were travelling to the states with 2 connecting flights on route. It was instantly noticeable that we were perceived as being awkward and to be avoided!!! Whats going on with NZs staff! [?] [n]
The agent needed help with imputing our information for the US authorities. She couldnt get NZs system to accept the address of our accommodation at SFO. She called for help and a very friendly agent soon instructed her on her error. Boarding passes for all legs were issued quickly and our bags were tagged through to our final destination.
To the credit of NZ The exit rows I had booked 6 months prior existed and we were allocated them without any problems. Its so easy to be able to call reservations and pre-select them and not have to pay for them
Not much in Queenstowns terminal to entertain us so the time passed slowly before our departure. Boarding was called 15 mins or so late due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft. ZQN doesnt have an airbridge facilities, all boarding is by good old steps to the front and the back of the aircraft. The metal to take us up to CHC was a ATR72 which was to be a new experience for me. The friends I was travelling with arent seasoned travellers by any stretch of the imagination. Their limited number of previous flight had all been on 737 sized aircraft at the smallest The looks on their faces when walking out to the ATR were priceless. Talk about panic stations!!! Quick round of questions followed about the safety record of the aircraft concerned. My lack of knowledge didnt help so this would be fun to watch their reactions over the next hour.
First impressions were interesting onboard. The height of the cabin was a real problem. ATRs must have been designed and built for travelling Hobbits!!! [:0] I had to crouch as I walked through the cabin. Im 64 and had really duck to get to our mid cabin seats!!! [:p]
Again, quick fire round of questions followed about the wings being above us from the nervous bunch in tow! The propellers we right in line with our seating, one of my friends was sure they were going to come straight though the side of the fuselage and chop him into pieces. Very amusing indeed. They were really twitching now.
The pitch and comfort levels of the seating was very good though. The seats were leather and contained a good deal more padding and lumber support than any other Y seating I could remember. For once my knees werent wedged into the seats in front which was a bonus.
Aircraft soon fired up, the engine noises provided a few tense looks from some. Taxi soon followed onto the runway itself, were taxied up to the end of the runway before making a 180 degree turn ready for take-off roll. We quickly made the skies with a very slow climb rate in amongst the beautiful scenery.
The service kicked in straight away due to the short flight time. NZ contract out the coverage of this flight to Mount Cook Airlines as a regional service. The 3 cabin crew offered Tea and Coffee and mineral water on their rounds. No food was available due to the size of the galley upon asking.
A very comfortable 45 minutes followed. Our connection at CHC was quite tight. We only had 35 mins to catch our next flight up to AKL so no last minute delays were required! You can imagine the reaction when the captain announces that our landing will be delayed by 20 mins due to poor visibility at CHC. Time to strap on the running shoes me thinks!
Low cloud and fog in January must have been rare in the South island but it happened. We got ourselves grounded bang on 20 mins late as predicted by the captain. Thankfully a quick taxi followed and we were allowed a sharp exit from the aircraft by the crew. A quick sprint followed between the witchs hat cones as they are locally called and into the terminal.
Luckily our pre-printed boarding passes had the gate number on, so we found it quickly via a quick bag scan. Doors were about to be closed but we were allowed to board thankfully. We soon got the feeling from the passengers onboard that the crew had announced they were waiting for late passengers as some of the stares were intense to say the least!! [:I]
The flight was full so our seats stood out like a sore thumb. We stashed our bags overhead and were ready to go. The aircraft was a 737 so my companions were back in their comfort zone!
Again small delay followed because of the weather conditions. No real problem for us this time as our connection was more generous in AKL.
Take off was to the South to avoid the worst of the weather, the captain advised us that we would be taking a extended route south to gain altitude to clear the weather before turning back north. Not a problem I thought as I was hungry and more time would be available to indulge in the service on offer.
Should have known better by what NZ have offered by over the last 2 flights. Tea and Coffee and full range of soft drinks offered this time. As for any appetite busters We were offered cookies only! That was all that was available onboard, great! [:#]
No IFE available on the flight either. At this point I had read the in flight magazine from back to front on a number of occasions previously. Like Virgin Blue, NZ need to be complemented on the quality of the contents, some very good articles contained. Sleep took priority to try and beat of my need for food at this point so off I dozed!
I was awoken by the captain advising that our arrival was imminent and to apologize for the delays due to weather. Approach to AKL is always worth a window seat, the views are magnificent and yet again I wasnt to be disappointed.
Upon landing we taxied to our gate and upon seeing the baggage team appear my brain immediately clocked that there would have been no chance that our bags would have made this flight.
We took the walk through AKLs domestic terminal a little brisker than normal because of this. As no ground staff available to help, we decided to take the 20 minute walk to international to take up the matter there.
The walk is nice and easy, its well signed, and you follow a blue line thats been painted onto the walkway round back of the NZ engineering centre. You can wait for a bus which turns up every 30 mins or so, the walk at this time was much needed so off we trotted.
Upon entering international, I was gobsmacked by the size of EKs operation. They had a huge amount of passengers waiting to be checked in and probably 15-20 agents manning check-in desks. Quick investigation followed showing they had services to SYD, MEL, BNE, SIN, BKK on route back to DXB. I wasnt aware that they offered cross Tasman services Something I will be considering on my next trip back.
We paid up our $25NZD departure tax and made our way to NZs customer services desk to check on our baggage situation. The helpful agent confirmed that our baggage would be making our AKL-SFO flight by means of a later connection which was great news. No of us fancied a day or 2 in SFO with no clothing. That wouldnt have been a great way to end our trip.
The terminal at AKL is reasonably smart and offers a number of shops which passed the next 3 hours pretty quickly. My lack of *G plastic was again evident so no lounge access. I will be doing something about this, time to hit the search button and find some BMI advise I think!
Qantass facility looked very smart, 3 thugs on the door to keep out any unwanted visitors made it stand out. They had 2-3 flights leaving and their lounge looked pretty full.
The parade of EK 773s and a 345 departed while we were waiting noticeably reducing the number of passengers awaiting departure and freeing up some welcome seating in the terminal.
Our flight was called for boarding about 30 mins late due to the aircraft receiving maintenance it was later disclosed. Secondary security was in place before access to the gate was allowed. US restrictions on liquids were annoying a big chunk of passengers in the line. A lady had to abandon a bottle of perfume purchased in Australian duty free. It was apparently worth a good few dollars and wasnt allowed as it hadnt been purchased in AKL, she was visibly upset. A gent had to leave 12 bottles of wine behind that he had bought direct from a winery and carried all the way from the south island. NZ had no literature on US limitations anywhere and it wasnt surprising that these passengers werent aware of the restrictions in place.
Upon entering the gate area a dog handler was playing ball with a very large and lively Alsatian which got a good few people scurrying for the other end of the gate. The handler and dog soon got down to work and calm was restored!
45 mins and our departure time passed without any progress and no announcements either. A steady flow of passengers to the podium must have finally jerked the staff into making an announcement on the delay. NZs customer service left a lot to be desired yet again.
Boarding commenced 5-10 mins later in best man wins format. Elbows out and off we went to do battle with the crowd. We made it onboard alive, 15 mins later to make first assessments on NZs long haul cabin.
The Boarding door placed you onto the aircraft between Business Premier and Premium Economy as per VS. Business premier is exactly the same as UCS as posted previously by various other members except its missing the bar area and IFBT station.
Not the same can be said for Premium though. The cabin is only 2 rows deep on the 772ERs and the seating looked very, very close to the same width as Y. It followed the same 3-3-3 layout also. The leg room looked about the same as VS PE with something similar to the Wash style of seat. Didnt look a premium product at all over the few looks I had across the length of the flight.
53A and my domain for the next 12 hours provided good leg room, its only marginally hampered by the exit slide in the bottom of the door ahead, it has a window but you have to crank you neck quite a way round to use it.
FO was soon on the airwaves apologising for the delay and citing that the aircraft had been in a hanger until the last minute having a technical issue addressed. My companions faces soon appeared from 56A and B with renewed anxiety!!! My light hearted approach to their concerns was beginning to wear thin[}:)]
Flight time of 11.50 was announced with a routing over Tonga before heading just north of Maui and onwards to SFO.
The flight was full, all passengers were loaded promptly and we push backed within 15 mins of being onboard
Blankets, pillows and headsets were handed out. We were allowed to keep them on the floor by the exit which was a little strange I thought given emergency procedures.
Take-off followed after a short taxi and we were on our way following a north-easterly bearing straight away. I could see NZs airshow on view during take-off on other seating in front. They have a great version of this with a 3D view which wipes the floor with VSs version if its ever working[^]
The crew immediately announced the food offering. Chicken and .. No, a Lamb cottage pie was offered. I was expecting the statutory beef offering but I suppose a flight ex AKL had to have some sort of Lamb dish!
No drinks were served before the food service which was annoying. We had been in the gate area for a good hour before boarding so by the time the food appeared it had been a good two and half to three hours without a drink. No bottled water was allowed onboard so I was parched at this point and in need of a gallon of water.
For the main meal, I went for the Chicken pasta dish which was very good. Cheese, biscuits and a Raspberry ice-cream followed which were also excellent. It was very noticeable that the standard of service was significantly higher than the Tasman service offered 10 days earlier. NZs key routes couldnt survive on those levels of service so it wasnt surprising that to see a big improvement.
The FAs took an age too clear away the empties which proved a pain as sleep was now required, the crew served evening meals and then disappeared for a good 45 mins. We were towards the last people served, the people served first would have been waiting an hour quite easily which is too long.
Finally the cabin was cleared and lights off for the next few hours. I managed 6 hours of sleep in a couple of bursts which is a record time spent in Y. The seat proved to be very comfortable. It seemed a little bit wider than a VS economy seat which I find makes the difference between getting comfortable or not. The headrest had wings and also folded up from the neck area to support your head which was very nice.
The AVOD system had been switched on from the moment we boarded. A reasonable selection of films were available, no where near as good a selection as on V-Port though. The system was easy to navigate and contained some of New Zealands finest sporting events which had been archived over a number of years.
Breakfast was served around 2 hours short of the West coast. A choice between French toast and scrambled eggs was offered. I selected the scrambled eggs which turned out to be a full English breakfast. Food was again very hospitable and thoroughly enjoyable. Service to remove finished meals was again very slow.
The crew double-checked that all passengers had completed landing cards and explained the procedures required to clear immigration in great detail. The cabin has cleared down and we were soon arriving from the south at SFO.
While taxiing, I spotted a VA A320 parked remotely and crying out for the chance to earn some money. The livery looked smart, fingers crossed that it makes the skies soon...[:)]
We disembarked the aircraft to some pretty deep queues at immigration. It took 45 mins to clear and get down to the baggage hall. Our luggage was already circulating and soon retrieved.
The US security staff werent interested in any secondary screening so we were free to go once passing across our customs cards.
To summarize, the domestic legs in NZ left a lot to be desired. Service levels were that of a low cost operation and not what I was expecting. Qantas serve food on all internals within New Zealand so why not dont NZ I ask myself??
The jump across the big pond was very enjoyable though. Im glad NZ showed us truly what they have to offer. The food and seating was excellent, the IFE also very good.
NZ seem to be really let down by their staff though. Ticketing, Check-in and some areas of the onboard service were all sub standard and in need of serious repairs, in my eyes this leaves NZ with some pretty serious shortfalls and I'm glad that our next leg is back with VS....[:D]
