Flying from Whangarei to Auckland with Air New Zealand

An Air New Zealand Bombardier Q300 50-seater. Photo / Creative Commons License

Imran Ali flies from Whangarei to Auckland.

The plane: A Bombardier Q300 50-seater flying to most regional towns to and from international airports around New Zealand. Mine was a Virgin Australia ticket, but for a service operated by Air New Zealand. I was on the black Q300, meaning it was the first of the type Air New Zealand had taken delivery of.

The seat: 9B in rows 1 to 13 which is nearly at the back of the aircraft. Those 50-seaters do not have much wriggle room but the seats are reasonably comfortable for a 35-minute flight.

Price: Never crossed my mind as I didn't fork out for it but they go for $69 for seat-only to $219 for flexiplus each way. First flights before offices open are usually expensive.

Flight time: We left five minutes earlier than the scheduled departure time at 7.10am and arrived into Auckland at 7.40am.

How full: The flight was nearly full — I suspect mostly with business travellers who mostly kept to themselves or were glued to their iPads and laptops during the short journey.

Service: The single crew member was a jack of all trades from making cabin announcements to pulling the door shut with the help of ground crew, serving water, checking seatbelts and closing overhead luggage compartments. A friendly bloke who didn't seem fussed starting the early morning shift (but then it was Friday when there's a nice buzz in most of the offices).

Airport experience: I was advised to arrive for check-in at Whangarei Airport as an international passenger at 5.40am since I was on a connecting flight from Auckland to Brisbane. There was not a soul inside the place as I made my way warily towards the check-in counter. Nope, no one there, either. Whangarei Airport looked like it was ready to be officially opened by our PM-elect. Seven-on-the-dot and an Air New Zealand staffer and two cafe workers rolled in, followed by passengers.