Eventually board--A side but still way back and have great good fortune to have no middle seat passenger--just me and the lady on the aisle who asks me if I would like to change with her husband who is next to her on opposite row/aisle and I not very nicely say, 'Not really' but she is fine with that.
Dinner is again filling and that's good as NZ don't feed you again for 9 hours and this time I get two nice tumblers chardonnay and have remembered my own litre of water. I decide after two weeks of non stop sun and fun and toddlers, to sleep and read (new Kate Atkinson) so time flies, even if legs are not v happy being stuffed under reclined seat in front but am able to sit cross legged due to free center seat for stretches so all is fine. I have completely lost any memory of what it is like to fly NZ premier business class--which is good as no longer compare now with then nor feel phantom limb pangs.
Flight is(gasp) only 12 hours and my headset has begun to squeeze my head so stick in (VS) earplugs, grab extra blanket from neighboring seat and close eyes (we are told to close window shades due to sun even though sun does not arrive until 3/4 into flight). Read all of KiaOra inflight mag (not bad) and two books as well as one audio book and three episodes of My Family and we are in.
LAX immigration is forever, even for US pax--and very nearly miss SW connection but happily am in time to sit again for another seven plus hours no food (one stop--Nashville)to arrive by 10:30 pm adamant that SW, lovely as their baggage policy is, and lighthearted but silly their inflight trivia (and wrong--Wilma and Fred Flinstone were not the first couple on American tv to sleep in the same beds--it was Lucy and Ricky Ricardo) is not a lovely ride. I do like the no penalty flight change proviso (V America should look into this) but the travel? Not.
cheers,
RR
Roadrunner
