Flying from Auckland to Christchurch with Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Airbus A320-232. Photo / Ben, Flickr

Lauren Jones finds entertaining distractions flying from Auckland to Christchurch with Air New Zealand.

The plane: An Airbus A320.

Class: Economy.

Price: Managed to get a grabaseat deal for $69. I can't understate how great that app is for cheap flights if you're a frequent domestic flyer.

My seat: As always, close to the back of the plane. I can never be bothered to reserve a seat; it really doesn't make that much difference on domestic flights.

Flight time: 6pm

Fellow passengers: It was evening and everyone was pretty quiet. Though I always find it funny listening to people's responses to the quiz [available on the entertainment system] to see whether they get it right.

How full: There were a few spare seats.

Entertainment: I was fully engrossed in the quiz; it distracted me for the hour. The usual magazine was also available but I didn't read it.

The service: The crew were great, we had a little delay in taking off but they were very good at informing us of what was going on.

Food and drink: The classic option of the cookie or chips and coffee, tea or water. The cookie and a tea won me over.

Luggage: I had carry-on, a backpack and a little suitcase but there were no problems.

The airport experience: There was practically no line for security in Auckland, which is unusual but nice. Christchurch was good too and they had us also exiting out of the back door, which made things a bit faster.

The bottom line: Pretty standard flight with Air New Zealand and, even though we had a slight delay at Auckland, they made up the time on the flight. There was next to no turbulence, which always makes a flight more pleasant and the sunset above the clouds was a wonderful treat.

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