An Air New Zealand Aerospatiale ATR72. File photo / Mark Mitchell
The plane: Air NZ's regional operator Mt Cook with an ATR72 turbo prop. Disconcerting to see a piece of overhead trim connected by hanging strip of Sellotape.
Class: One class.
Price: $59.
Flight time: 1 hour.
My seat: 9C on the aisle but the seat beside me is empty so I have plenty of room and views. Good leg room.
Fellow passengers: Mixed bag of young and old, business and pleasure.
How full: 90 per cent.
Entertainment: KiaOra in-flight magazine and watching the stewardess mime the safety instruction card, words all but obliterated by the screaming turboprop.
The service: Efficient, but distant.
Food and drink: Mineral water, tea or coffee and a chocolate chip cookie. And the Kiwi classic: boiled lollies on descent.
The toilets: Clean but it's a shallow cubicle - could be tricky for the long of limb.
Luggage: Carry-on 7kg and a raincoat.
The airport experience: Smooth and pleasant.
The bottomline: A couple of quirks but a smooth-as-silk flight.
