Air New Zealand's Boeing 787-9. Photo / Supplied
Shandelle Battersby takes the Dreamliner flight NZ108 across the Tasman.
The plane: Oh, happy days! When I checked in for my Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Auckland late on a Sunday afternoon, I found myself with a seat on the new Air New Zealand Dreamliner 787-9 thanks to their codeshare agreement.
Class: Economy.
Price: $186.16 for me today - no extras added.
On time? Yep, down to the minute.
My seat: 56A - a window seat in a row of three, which I had to myself.
Could things get any better? Actually, yes. One of the best features of this beautiful new plane is its larger windows, which dim to black at the push of a button. The only slight annoyance was the tall man in front of me who reclined his seat as soon as the plane left the ground and wriggled around in it for the next two and a half hours. This gave me little room for my tray table and meant my entertainment screen kept moving around - the slim-line seats are a little flimsy. However, the leg room was very generous and I liked the flexible headrest.
How full? Plenty of empty seats.
Entertainment: The seat backs have touch screens and there is a large range of entertainment options. I didn't pay for entertainment so the majority of the movies would have cost me $10, but there was plenty of free stuff, too. I got to watch the Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets, Florian Habicht's documentary which I'd missed at the Auckland Film Festival. There is also plenty to keep the kids quiet, and lots of games.
The service: It seemed as though the flight attendants - who you can summon via your touch screen - were all pleased as punch to be working on the Dreamliner.
Food and drink: Again, not something I'd booked for, but boy, the lamb tagine and harissa chicken smelled good. You can also order drinks and a small range of snacks from your entertainment screen.
The toilets: I didn't need to use them but one of my bosses, who flew this plane on an earlier flight, reports they're "very user-friendly".
Luggage: I just had carry-on but had gone a little overboard with the shopping in Sydney and it weighed waaaaay more than 7kg. No one checked though.
The airport experience: Sydney's international terminal has plenty of food outlets, a few luxury shops, Wi-Fi, free internet terminals and plenty of places where you can charge your gadgets. There are even showers if you're desperate to freshen up. BYO soap and towel.
Would I fly this again? Hell yes, I would. In fact, I think I'll only fly to places that Dreamliners go to from now on. I have been ruined for other planes.
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