A Germanwings Airbus A319. Photo / Grant Bradley
Grant Bradley flies from Oslo to Hamburg on Germanwings 4U7195.
The plane: An Airbus A319, closely related to the A320 that dominates New Zealand skies.
My seat: 10C, an exit row so plenty of leg room and I had the whole row to myself.
Service: Excellent. The three flight attendants had plenty of time for all the passengers and were very chatty.
Class: Economy throughout on this low-cost wing of Lufthansa, although 12 seats at the front have more leg room for a fee.
The cost: Fares booked at short notice were going for $141 one way.
On time: No! That famed German punctuality took a hit from the knock-on effects of runway work at Hamburg and we took off 35 minutes behind schedule and didn't make much of it up on the 1hr 25m hop across the Baltic Sea.
How full: Only about a quarter of the seats were filled.
Entertainment: BYO policy here. There's a breezy inflight magazine but nothing more on offer from the airline, which is undergoing a rebrand to Eurowings. The gradual shift to the new brand started before the tragedy in which a pilot flew a plane with 149 others on board into the French Alps in March.
Food and drink: Basic, but fine. My "smart fare" qualified me for a sandwich, a small bottle of water and a chocolate bar. You can buy food on board from a reasonably extensive menu, where sandwiches start at $5.90.
Toilets: Three on board this fairly new plane. Clean and surprisingly spacious.
Airport experience: Oslo is a lovely airport and security is strict but friendly. It was busy on a Saturday afternoon with Norwegian leisure travellers going on early autumn breaks to soak up the sun before the long winter. We parked close to the arrivals hall at Hamburg Airport, which made for an easy introduction to the port city, but our bags took an inordinately long time to materialise.
Would I fly again: Certainly. This is a no-fuss, no-frills airline - although my experience was helped by having so few passengers on board.
The flight to Queenstown from the capital traditionally takes 55 minutes.