A Jetstar A320. Photo / Jetstar Airways
Amelia Wade takes a Saturday afternoon flight across the ditch.
The plane: An A320.
Class: Economy with some cheeky extra leg room.
Price: $267 — very reasonable given I only booked it last minute.
On time? Almost to the minute thankfully because after missing an earlier flight I had to wait five hours for the next one.
Flight time: 4 hours, five minutes.
My seat: 13A — an unexpected, unrequested but very much appreciated spot in the emergency row.
Fellow passengers: A mixture of Kiwis and Aussies in suits or holiday gear, including an old friend from university in the row behind me. Small world.
The airport: With five hours to kill in the foodcourt I had much time to experience some of Auckland Airport's food offerings. Both Pita Pit and KFC were delicious as per, the lady from Atomic Cafe was lovely but the vending machine at the gate was a little tricky to use. Staff were also very tolerant of someone hogging a power socket for hours on end.
Service: Very friendly — as I was in an emergency row my handbag had to be in the overhead locker for take-off. The flight attendant happily did that for me and even offered to take it down once we were in the air.
Oddities: Absolutely no entertainment offered besides the inflight mag. Be sure to bring a device loaded with movies or a book.
Toilets: Standard but with quite a long queue.
Entertainment: None offered, not even for a price. Luckily I'd downloaded many episodes of my series du jour to binge on, though I ended up sleeping on the fold-out tray for most of the flight.
Luggage: Carry-on only with a bag check costing $25.
Would I fly again? Certainly, though I'd be sure to bring movies, snacks and leave my confiscated bottle of face-wash at home.
Vail combines luxury with festive charm better than anywhere else.