Air New Zealand's Auckland to Sydney service reviewed - flight check

Still from the new Air New Zealand safety video 'Journey to Safety'. Photo / Instagram.com/airnz

Flight Check - Auckland to Sydney on NZ105

The plane: Airbus A321neo

Class: Economy with a Works ticket. This model of aircraft has no Premium or Business Class seating.

Price: A return Works ticket cost $734.53.

Flight time: Three hours.

My seat: 23A, a window seat on left side of plane above the wing . . . and no one filled the other two seats. The leather (or pleather? I'm not sure) seat was comfortable and reasonably spacious.

Fellow passengers: It was a 4.20pm flight so looked like mostly holidaymakers, rather than a business crowd. No one was wearing face masks, despite being in the midst of Covid-19 panic.

How full: In my row, loads of room.

Entertainment: As always, Air New Zealand's selection was excellent, with a huge number of new and recent releases, box sets, and podcasts. No Trip Notes though . . . Air NZ, can we talk? The flight had complimentary Wi-Fi, and I made the most of it to catch up on some work. It was fast and easy to connect, and there were no issues throughout the flight. For the first time ever, I can say I actually enjoyed the safety video. "Journey to Safety" is cute and engaging.

The service: Friendly and efficient, with a touch of Kiwi humour.

Food and drink: Three meal options for Works customers — chicken thigh with roast vegetables, greek lamb casserole, or egg noodles with tofu. My lamb casserole was pretty tasty and just enough to fill me up so I didn't need dinner that evening on arrival.

The toilets: Small but clean and tidy.

Luggage: 23kg/7kg as standard.

The airport experience: Auckland Airport just gets better and better in terms of food and shopping options. The new Vantage bar seems like a great spot for a pre-flight celebratory drink and some food, and the Saben store is going to cause a lot of last-minute impulse buys before boarding.

I had access to the Strata lounge, so I nipped in for half an hour and enjoyed some delicious cheese and crackers and a glass of Haha bubbles. Doing a quick bathroom stop before I headed to the gate, I was impressed with the amenities in the showers — Ashley and Co shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, for a quick freshen up before the flight.

The bottom line: A great way to fly.