An Air New Zealand Airbus A320. Photo / File
Peter Donaldson flies from Avarua, Rarotonga, to Auckland on Air New Zealand flight NZ0749.
The plane: An Airbus A320.
Class: Cattle.
Price: Booked and paid for months before, when Air New Zealand was offering some cheap(er) fares.
My seat: 7E, near the front, on the right, in the middle row. Tight on legroom, not a lot of adjustment.
On time: According to my Air New Zealand app, it departed 24 hours earlier without us. That had me choking on Neil Dearlove's wonderful Cook Islands Coffee Company coffee before a drive to the airport confirmed we hadn't missed the flight.
Entertainment: Usual screen with all the usual choices, but at 2.30am sleep was the favoured option.
Fellow passengers: 7D was occupied by an obese chap who also wanted part of my seat and hadn't included personal hygiene on his pre-flight checklist. He attacked his meal with gusto using a whole-arm movement, which meant his elbow inflicted on me a full-on left-side upper body massage.
How full: Fullish, but there were a few (favoured) single passengers able to spread out over three seats.
Service: Peering through the pungent curtain separating me and the aisle, it seemed pretty efficient.
Food and drink: Who, apart from 7D, really cares at that time of the day? The pre-flight toasted sandwiches from the airport cafe were tasty, though.
Toilets: Some at the front, some at the back. But I held on, having no wish to make any unnecessary contact with 7D.
Luggage: A smidge over the 23kg max for economy, but no worries.
Airport experience: I love open-air airport check-ins, so even down-at-heel Avarua didn't disappoint.
Would I fly this again: What, and endure four-and-a-half hours of eye-watering, nose-twitching hell with 7D as a travel companion? Not likely. I'd pay the extra for slightly more legroom on the front left of the plane and gamble on meeting a better class of traveller.
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