Martin Bridges flies (eventually) aboard Air New Zealand's flight NZ452, from Wellington to Auckland.
The plane: Airbus A320-232, registration ZK-OJR
Class: There's only one class on Air New Zealand Domestic, but since I'm Gold tier in the Koru loyalty scheme, I get to sit in the front nine rows, whichhave more legroom.
My seat: 6D, aisle seat in a 3-3 configuration. As mentioned above, the front nine rows have a greater pitch (88cm). Plenty of legroom even for someone like me with telescopic legs (I'm 196cm).
Price: Booked by my company so I don't know, but these peak hour flights are always busy so the price goes up early. Could be $384.
Flight time: In the air time was 46 minutes, but I arrived in Auckland 3h 15 mins after we were supposed to take off due to delays (see below).
How full: This flight is always full with returning businessmen and politicians fleeing Wellington. There were only a handful of empty seats.
Delays: While I was sat in the Koru lounge I was notified via the app that there would be a 45-minute delay due to late incoming aircraft. When we boarded I noticed the plane was strangely warm, like the aircon wasn't running. The First Officer then made an announcement that the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which powers the aircraft on the ground wasn't working (hence no aircon) which meant they would need to start the engines in a different way, using a piece of ground equipment. A few minutes later she told us that the ground equipment was also faulty and they were trying to solve it. After a while we were taken off the plane and back to the lounge, We eventually re-boarded at about 8.45pm and left at about 9.15pm (two and a half hours late).
Service: Excellent as always, especially when dealing with the delays. The crew came round with lollies while we were waiting for repairs then got the doors open to let some air in to cool the cabin. They even provided blankets for those in the front row who then found it too cold.
Food and drink: It was Koru Hour (4.35pm- 7.05pm) so there was a selection of wines and beers available, accompanied by a couple of lumps of cheese & some crackers. These days they even have craft beer on board: Emerson's "Big Rig" Pale Ale in this case.
Entertainment: The delays were their own entertainment! And at least they've ditched that awful "rap battle" safety video.
Overall experience: It's never great being delayed, especially at the end of a long day, but this was clearly outside the airline's control and they did everything they could to keep us informed and happy.
