Flying from Auckland to Los Angeles aboard Air New Zealand

An Air New Zealand 777-300. Photo / Eric Salard

Joanna Hunkin flies NZ6 from Auckland to Los Angeles (en route to New York).

The plane: Boeing 777-300

Class: Business

Price: $14,976 (return to NYC)

Flight time: Just under 12 hours.

My seat: 11K, which turned out wasn't working properly and couldn't be converted to lie-flat mode. After three crew members attempted to fix the problem, they arranged for me to swap seats with a staff passenger, who was less than thrilled by the prospect.

Fellow passengers: Seemed a nice enough bunch of people.

How full: Chock-a-block. Although several of those around me had been upgraded from Premium Economy.

Entertainment: Was fairly standard. The new release movie line-up included all the latest Oscar contenders — as well as some superhero blockbusters.

The service: Was excellent from those dealing with me directly. Less impressive were the crew members who kept whispering to the aforementioned staff passenger about the fact he had to swap seats and how annoying it was. I appreciate it wasn't personal but I already felt self-conscious about the situation and only felt more awkward with every furrowed brow.

Food and drink: Would have been lovely if I'd stuck with the standard menu. Foolishly, I opted for the gluten-free meal (which seemed sensible given I am gluten-intolerant).

However, I failed to realise that the gluten-free meal is also the dairy-free meal, nut-free meal and, consequently, flavour-free meal. This was especially disappointing as I was served the exact same meal on the return journey five days later. Next time, I'll stick with the standard option and just eat around the gluten.

The toilets: Were soaked with a sticky yellow substance just after take-off. To be fair, I think someone spilt their wine (though god knows why you would take wine to the loo?)

The cabin crew obligingly cleaned it up when it was pointed out them.

Luggage: You're allowed two pieces at 23kg each but, honestly, who has that kind of dexterity? I can barely control one case.

The airport experience: There's a reason everyone tells you to avoid LAX ... Being herded on to buses and carted to the terminal is never a dignified experience. Likewise, trying to navigate your way from the main international terminal to United Airlines in terminal 7 is a lonely hike through the bowels of LAX that will leave you worrying one wrong turn will see you lost forever.

The bottomline: As someone who rarely gets to fly Business Class, what should have been a luxurious treat was soured by the whole seat-swap incident.