Flight check: Auckland to Melbourne on Qantas

Cameron McMillan flies Q152 from Auckland to Melbourne.

The plane: Boeing 737-838.

Class: Economy.

Price: $313.

On time? Yes - bang on, which was great as I had to make a tee-time at a golf course an hour's drive from Melbourne.

My seat: 10E. Window seat. Near enough from the front to be one of the first few off, but also far enough away from the off-putting sweet smell of business class champagne. Felt like less room than an Air NZ flight I took across the Tasman a few weeks earlier but the female passenger next to me could still manage to lift her knees and rest them against the seat in front of her. An impressive feat.

Fellow passengers: Not really in the talking mood, too busy perfecting acrobatics.

How full? Almost chocker.

Entertainment: Decent selection of movies, television shows and music. Upside of Qantas is that you can catch Aussie shows that don't air in New Zealand so spent the flight watching the brilliant Power Games miniseries on the Packer-Murdoch battle.

The service: Faultless.

Food and drink: Early flight out so a breakfast was on the offering fairly quick smart. The "breakfast frittata" with baked beans, along with yoghurt, orange juice and apple-walnut muffin all filled the spot.

The toilets: Only a four-hour flight. Was a good boy and went before we left.

Luggage: Was taking golf clubs over so was worried about an extra wait at baggage claim since they were in the heavy luggage hold but they arrived at same time as my other bag.

The airport experience: The self-scanning passport machines at customs made for a quick exit - but for some reason they don't have them when departing Melbourne. Customs had no issues with my golf clubs, which was actually a let-down, as I had cleaned them twice before leaving.

Would I fly this again? I still prefer our national carrier, but this is a decent second option if flights suit better.

Cameron McMillan travelled as a guest of Tourism Victoria.