My seat: Very comfortable, large seats with extendable foot rest and reclining ability. These premium economy seats are different from the white, wide-body Spaceseats that feature in the 777-300 fleet.
Fellow passengers: Airline, Boeing and Rolls Royce executives plus international media. There was lots of walking around and interaction between passengers, all of whom were pretty excited to be aboard.
How full: 1/3
Entertainment: The new inflight entertainment system operates like a tablet and not only has viewing material but allows you to call staff, order food and drinks and even turn on a reading light. Very easy to use.
The service: Excellent.
Food and drink: A special delivery-flight menu offered three-course breakfast, lunch and dinner with a range of choices.
I had fruit and granola for breakfast followed by a salmon and fish entree for lunch with an antipasto platter and dulce de leche icecream. For dinner, I had a duck breast entree with a chicken breast and rice pilaf main.
The toilets: Very clean and had been stocked with luxury Antipodes soap.
Luggage: No problems there, plus plenty of room in the overhead locker for carry-on.
The airport experience: We departed from the Boeing Delivery Centre in Seattle so it was relaxed and stress-free compared with larger airports. In Auckland, we were greeted with a haka.
Would I fly this again? Definitely ... if the chance arose. Unfortunately, delivery flights for brand new aircraft like this are rare.
Video: Inside Air New Zealand's Dreamliner
