Flight check: Napier to Auckland on Air NZ

The Bombardier Q300 seats just 50 in two rows of two. Photo / NZME.

Shandelle Battersby flies back from the East Coast on a tiny Air New Zealand Bombardier Q300.

The plane: An Air New Zealand Bombardier Q300.

My seat: 9C, by the wing. This tiny plane, which is quite noisy thanks to its propellers, seats just 50 in two rows of two. If you close your eyes, you can almost pretend you're in a private jet.

Price: Fares start from $79.

Fellow passengers: Business commuters and a couple of golfers who'd been playing the world-class course at Cape Kidnappers for the weekend.

Full? About half.

On time? Yes, and thanks to the sterling weather conditions, we were outside the Auckland terminal five minutes early after enjoying some great views of the central North Island.

Entertainment: I made the foolish mistake of packing my book in my checked bag, so I read the inflight mag from cover to cover a couple of times.

The service: The sole hostie dished out water, coffee, tea and biscuits, and the basket of lollies with efficiency and grace.

The toilets: Just one, and it is very, very tight.

The airport experience: I found a part of the Auckland Domestic Airport I didn't know existed, on the left of the Air New Zealand check-in area. There's even a Pie Face. The Napier Airport is basic but nice, with great views across the tarmac. There are just a couple of gates and two identical Air New Zealand planes arrived right after each other, so I was slightly worried we might have been getting on one destined for Christchurch or something.

Would I fly this again? Napier is only five hours by road from Auckland, but the Napier-Taupo Rd is a bit of a slog. If I was going for a weekend I would definitely recommend this short and comfortable one-hour flight, though you really do need a car at the other end.