Mark Ebrey compares the two extremes of air travel - costly v cut-rate
We're all keen on a bargain, and there are certainly plenty of bargain airfares on offer at the moment, but what do you miss out on by flying budget class ... and have you ever wondered what it's like to sit up the front of the plane?
Well, if my recent experience is anything to go by, flying on the cheap across the Tasman gets you a service comparable in many ways to flying first class and at less than a quarter of the price.
The catalyst for me was the arrival on the Auckland-Sydney sector of Emirates new A380 Airbus, complete with in-flight showers and premium bar.
After a lifetime of flying cattle class around the world, I thought it would be a great opportunity to celebrate my upcoming 60th birthday by going first class.
But, in the interest of research (and economy), I decided to make the return flight from Sydney on the cheapest flight I could find, and that turned out to be a Go Fare on Pacific Blue.
The accompanying table compares the two flights head to head and on a value for money basis Pacific Blue was the clear winner.
Emirates scored well on the availability front, with first class seats available for every flight, while I had to do a bit more searching before I could find a seat on Pacific Blue at the bargain basement fare.
But in many of the other convenience areas, there was little or no difference.
I did have to queue to check in for the Pacific Blue flight in Sydney but the fact that I only had to be there two hours before the flight rather than three for Emirates negated that advantage.
There was almost no difference in the official processing times and my extra wait for economy class bags in Auckland was only about 10 minutes.
Of course I was able to wait in the comfort of the Emirates lounge in Auckland but, frankly, I was disappointed in what it offered.
When the call came to board there was no differentiation between first and economy class passengers but I was able to avoid the huddle at the economy gate.
My first impression on entering the first class cabin was one of overpowering heat. I don't know what the temperature was but it was decidedly uncomfortable.
Still, there's no doubt about what you are paying for in first class, leg room to burn and the ability to shut yourself off from the rest of the passengers.
The leather seat turns into a 2m-plus bed and it's also possible to lower the seat sides to make an even wider bed.
I tried the five-zone massage system but it seemed to be more of a gimmick than a genuine therapeutic exercise.
The 58cm digital screen offers great viewing and the noise cancelling headphones superb audio, but there seemed to be no difference between the ICE entertainment in first or economy.
It might seem like a nit-picking detail, but I discovered my bowl of goodies had not been replaced during the stopover and instead of being waited on hand and foot - no pre-flight bubbles or OJ - it seemed that the fact that I had my own mini-bar meant I had to fend for myself. The choices were all non-alcoholic and the missing goodies bowl meant there were no nibbles.
To be fair the cabin crew did come through offering the traditional dates and Arabic coffee and after take-off the service levels picked up and the missing goodies bowl arrived.
With an advertised flight time of 3 hours 30 minutes to Sydney I thought there would be plenty of time to sample all the treats of first class, but the flight deck announced that thanks to favourable winds the flight would take only 2 hours 40 minutes, so almost a quarter of my very expensive time disappeared.
The menu came around for dinner, a three-course offering, the main difference to what was being served downstairs being the addition of carrot and dill soup and the style of presentation, with individual dishes served on a white tablecloth-clad dinner table.
I choose the lamb shanks so I could directly compare what I would be purchasing on the homeward flight on Pacific Blue the next day. Verdict: presentation first class; taste only so so.
The wine list was at least first class standard with 2000 vintage Moet Dom Perignon, a choice of quality French, Australian and New Zealand reds and whites, French sauternes for dessert and a 1985 Dows vintage port to follow.
I had tuned into Baroque music on the 1000-channel ICE entertainment system shortly after taking my seat, but lost my place when the system went into restart mode while taxiing, and switched instead to an Abba playlist.
Anyway, with the shortened flight time, getting enjoyment out of the ICE system was of less priority than making sure I got full value from Emirates' first class points of difference, the mile high shower and the first class social area at the front of the plane.
With each of the 14 first class passengers limited to five minutes shower, there wasn't a lot of time, and I was concerned about running out of water with a head full of shampoo or conditioner, so I reverted to the old Army basic training trick of a quick soaking all over, before turning the water off, soaping, then turning the water on for a quick rinse.
By now we were well into the flight and I gave up on relaxing in what Emirates describes as a "chic, private, social area" at the front of the plane complete with "soothing water feature coupled with sophisticated mood lighting" in favour of heading for the shared first/business class lounge toward the rear of the top deck.
I was the only customer but that gave me a chance to talk about what has been happening in Dubai with my host behind the bar.
Over a couple or three very enjoyable Cointreaus I heard that many of the big developments in Dubai had come to a complete halt and that the impact was being felt in the air.
While 10 of the 14 first class seats were filled on this flight, only 40 of the 76 business class seats were occupied.
I returned to my seat as the lights of Sydney came into view and it was then I really experienced the advantages of first class.
First off the plane, I reached Sydney passport control as the immigration officers were still logging in, within seconds I was on my way to the baggage carousel, my bag came through within two minutes and I whistled through quarantine thanks to a fast track card I was given on the plane.
And so to the return journey.
Flying transtasman economy class there aren't any huge differences between the various full service operators - you get basically the same leg room and personal space - but with no frills airlines like Pacific Blue you have to pay extra for trimmings like food, drinks and most entertainment.
And when you think about it, there's something to be said for paying only for what you want.
For short hops like Sydney to Auckland there's no need to eat or drink on the plane and the flight is generally too short to get full benefit from watching a movie.
There's nothing wrong with taking your own food with you - subject to dumping any leftovers in the quarantine bins on arrival.
Taking your own drink is a bit of a problem, given the security rules for liquids, but the onboard cost of booze isn't that bad.
As I had my own noise cancelling headphones, I listened to a very pleasant classical programme free of charge, and spent $25 trying the inflight food offerings, including tomato soup in a cup, lamb shank stew, a G&T in a can and a 187ml bottle of red.
The difference between Pacific Blue's lamb shank special and the first class dish on Emirates was basically the way the food was presented.
But I had also enjoyed a delicious wok stir fry in Sydney Airport before I joined the flight and that's what I mean about choice.
Thanks to the various food outlets available I had a choice of a lot of different food styles pre-boarding and could have easily dozed all the way from Sydney to Auckland.
With an empty seat beside me in economy and enough room in front that my knees did not touch the seat back, I did not feel crammed in, but I acknowledge that would have been different with a full flight.
Because of our late night arrival time back in Auckland there wasn't a lot of traffic, and while it took me a few minutes to get off the plane from my mid-aircraft seat, there was no hold-up at immigration, and my bags came through reasonably quickly as well.
And given New Zealand's strict x-ray-everything policy for quarantine purposes, I doubt whether I could have got through this part of the process any quicker even if I had returned first class.
So, in summary, flying first class definitely has its attractions on long haul sectors where you can get full benefit from your two-metre bed but for short hops across the ditch it's hardly worth paying a fortune just to take a mile high shower.
