The free vouchers to spend at Changi International Airport made the two-hour stopover bearable. Photo / JTB Photo, Getty
The plane: A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Near-new aircraft, or well kept. Classic black exterior and interior.
The seat: Seats 47B and 47C.
Price: Part of a return airfare package of $1350 per traveller.
Flight time: A total flying time of 9 hours and 40 minutes.
Food and drink: Good. I'd rate it seven out of 10. Due to not feeling the best, I requested a vegetarian meal and happily they had a spare. I'm always a fan of the Cookie Time cookies offered as an on-board snack.
Entertainment: Great selection of new release films — better than those offered on our previous Singapore Airlines flight. I was delighted to see listed the movie Lion. Such an amazing film I watched it twice.
Also, I noticed and appreciated that, unlike on other airlines, there were no advertisements on entertainment systems while watching movies and TV shows. Air New Zealand's safety video a winner, as usual. Loved it.
Service: Friendly cabin crew. It was great to see Kiwi faces and hear familiar accents after being overseas for more than six weeks. Kudos to the awesome pilot who shared an in-depth flight plan, updates and weather checks over the PA system. It's great to have that interaction with passengers.
Toilets: Clean for the most part, and the quirky wallpaper didn't go unnoticed.
Airport experience: The $40 free vouchers to spend at Changi International Airport in Singapore made the two-hour stopover pleasant. Nice incentive.
Would I take this flight again? Yes, but only if it was organised as part of our scheduled connecting flights. I wouldn't go out of my way to specifically book an international long-haul flight with Air New Zealand. For close to the same price you would pay to travel internationally with Air New Zealand you could get a noticeably better service with Singapore Airlines or Emirates.
The annual event means closures for some lanes on the city's harbour bridge.