Flying from Auckland to Houston with Air New Zealand in Premium Economy

Air New Zealand Boeing 777 on the tarmac at the Auckland International Airport. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Wendy Petrie flies from Auckland to Houston with Air New Zealand in Premium Economy.

Visas and requirements: New Zealand passport holders must apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation or an Esta into the United States, which is an easy online process.

Departure airport experience: The days of a drawn-out check-in process are thankfully over. With the new Auckland International Transport Hub, the drop off is super quick and alongside the high-tech passport digital screening bizzo, I’m through airport security in 20 minutes. The Air New Zealand staff are smiling and even the X-ray scanner workers seem upbeat, with one calling out “have a great trip Wendy”.

Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Photo / Air NZ

The Duty-Free shops are busy but I was heading straight for the Air New Zealand Koru Lounge for some light pre-dinner snacks. With a 14-hour direct flight, I needed to pace myself with things to do on the plane such as eat dinner and (hopefully) sleep. Koru is bustling but I still find a seat and then I hear a page for “Wendy Pet-er-eee, please come to the counter”.

It’s always a thrill when your recognition upgrade comes through. However, this time, there was a catch. This is a Boeing 777 dry-leased plane, formerly flying for Cathay Pacific and my particular Premium Economy seat wasn’t able to show any movies.

I needed 10 minutes to decide whether to accept the seat. 14 hours without movies? Overhearing my conversation, another passenger offered me some excellent advice that hadn’t crossed my mind, download movies on my laptop. Good thinking. So, I started furiously downloading rom-coms to watch on the plane.

Seat: How ironic then, when I sat down in Premium Economy and there were indeed movies after all. I usually don’t like a window seat as I feel trapped. However, one big benefit of this leased plane is the generous seat and legroom. There was no climbing over your neighbour to reach the bathroom and no awkward arm touching going on mid-flight.

The best thing about Premium Economy is the food; you feel a bit special with your own Rārangi Kai menu. Photo / Wendy Petrie

The best surprise was the seat recline. Premium Economy has 106cm seat pitch with a 22cm recline. With the footrest up, I knew I would get a decent sleep on this flight. Peering back into Economy, it still had a generous amount of legroom 88cm and 12cm recline.

This Boeing 777 is unique with different interior colours that perhaps look a bit outdated. It is fitted with the Air New Zealand touches and inflight entertainment and still has Air New Zealand pilots and crew.

What’s unique about this aircraft, is the six ‘first-class’ (remember these in the olden days?) now called extra-luxe seats which I had a peek at. They did look flash. In total there are 294 seats with six Business Premier Preferred seats, 53 Business Premier, 34 Premium Economy and 201 Economy seats.

Crew: The Air NZ cabin crew were great. I am a loyal Air NZ flyer and it’s always a joy to be flying with them. When my next-door neighbour Rob couldn’t get the beef, they retrieved a duck meal from Business Class instead.

Passengers: The flight was absolutely chocka. I also noticed there were a lot of older American travellers, perhaps heading home.

Food and drink: The best thing about Premium Economy is the food. You feel a bit special with your very own menu, Rārangi Kai, on your seat.

I selected red chicken curry with roasted eggplant, capsicum and steamed jasmine rice but the best thing on my plate was the warm sourdough bread with butter. The chardonnay was also excellent and buttery the way I like it.

For breakfast I chose an omelette. My cup of tea was sadly lukewarm but let’s face it, coffee was going to be the next port of call, on landing.

Air New Zealand.

Entertainment: My seat ended up having in-flight entertainment after all. There was a wide selection, the headphones were high quality. I watched It Ends With Us after hearing all the off-screen drama with the movie’s two stars. My screen was a bit clunky to use which was possibly why they thought it was broken. Also there is no Wi-Fi on these planes.

Arrival airport experience: Out of the plane and into a freezing Houston, recording unseasonably cold temperatures. However, it was a breeze getting through US Customs. Again, I think it was a total of 20 minutes before I was ordering an Uber to downtown Houston. The airport is going through a renovation so sadly there was no coffee or indeed any shops to be found.

The best bit: The reclined seat brought me so much joy. I slept eight hours! This is unbelievable.

The worst bit: The drama of downloading movies pre-flight for a seat that did end up having inflight entertainment after all. So maybe that isn’t so bad.

Final verdict: I like a direct flight and this one was excellent and fast, from checking in to arriving in Houston. I love the big seats and legroom this plane has to offer.