Air New Zealand's Dreamliner at Shanghai. Photo / Michael Flyger
Michael Flyger flies from Shanghai to Auckland aboard Air New Zealand.
The plane: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Class: Business Premier.
Price: This flight was part of a much larger itinerary, but a one-way ride can be had for a touch over $3000.
Flight time: 12h 15m, gate to gate. The 6.45am arrival plonks you squarely into the morning rush, so be prepared for long queues at biosecurity.
My seat: 4A, set out in the herringbone style. Fairly cosy but nice and long, and paired with a memory foam mattress and snuggly blanket. I slept a solid eight hours.
Fellow passengers: An even split of Kiwis on the way home and Chinese tourists.
How full: As a full thing.
Entertainment: These days, Air NZ's AVOD system is up there with the best, and I love that you can build up a playlist of movies and TV shows. You'd have to rack up some serious miles to run out of stuff to watch.
The service: It's often said that boarding Air NZ in a foreign port makes it feel like you're already home. There aren't a lot of smiles or personal touches in Pudong airport, so to board to a big Kiwi grin and a "kia ora!" was really heartwarming at the end of a long trip.
The flight manager and her crew were great and made a point of chatting to each passenger at least once throughout the flight.
Food and drink: Michael Meredith and Peter Gordon have been at it again — smoked salmon, beef short rib, masala chicken, salted caramel dulce de leche. I ate so much I pretty much had to fall asleep.
The toilets: Kept clean throughout, with tongue-in-cheek wallpaper and Antipodes toiletries.
Luggage: An extremely generous three checked bags up to 23kg each, plus two carry-ons up to 14kg total, and a "personal item" (read: handbag or laptop).
The airport experience: I took the 430km/h Maglev from town, which takes all of eight minutes to zip you the 20km to Pudong. The locals seem content to stand on the moving walkways on the long walk from the train station to check-in, so I was the rude Westerner shoving past everyone. Checking in was easy, though, with a dedicated line for Business Premier, and once I'd slogged through the huge security and immigration lines, finding the shared lounge was easy. I took a pass on the dreary food offerings and used the time to grab a shower instead.
Would I fly this again? I'm not sold on Shanghai as a transit hub, but would be first in line for long haul on Air New Zealand again.
Thousands of Kiwis visit every year, but it's now been labelled a 'complete dump'.