Mini Tour of NZ

[Altair]

That would have been cold and damp! (more in relation to precipitation than the lake...)

You were lucky I guess ...

Not quite. I was cold and damp because the basement was flooded and had to fix a leak in the roof.
Followed by suit and wedding ring shopping, so more cold and dampness.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

oops forgot about the ATRs (not many ATR flights from AKL)

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

That would have been cold and damp! (more in relation to precipitation than the lake...)

Yesterday was okay - warm enough out of wind and cloudy but no rain at all. I got sunburnt

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Not quite. I was cold and damp because the basement was flooded and had to fix a leak in the roof.
Followed by suit and wedding ring shopping, so more cold and dampness.

Congratulations. I would have thought a leaky flooded basement would be perfect for when your future MIL comes to visit? Natural habitat and all!

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Whangarei to Auckland (WRE-AKL) on NZ Beech 1900D

I am lucky to get a nice spring day for this short flight. The terminal is small but has a little cafe and some chairs. There seems to be more activity with the private a/c including some skydiving.

As with all the regional airports, check in is simple. The flight is fairly full so no opportunity to change seats but I'm happy with the computer's allocation for me. Boarding is called and the terminal empties. I watch the last of the skydivers lazily spiral down to earth as I walk across the tarmac. We have a short taxi.

The airport layout reminds me of a smaller Wellington. As with WLG, the runway has sea at each end, being located on a point jutting out into the harbour, and there is a steep drop off into the sea. It is quite a lot higher than Wellington airport - more like a small hill that has been flattened on top.

We take off across the harbour and turn south towards Auckland, giving great views in the turn of the city, the heads and also the oil refinery at Marsden Point. There are lightly scattered small clouds, like little white breadcrumbs spread across a dining table.

With the short duration of the flight (about 20 minutes) we fly along the Northland peninsula at low altitude. So there are great views of the harbours and beaches on both coastlines with rolling hills in between the tentacles of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean reaching out for each other like parted lovers.

Soon we are at the outskirts of Auckland passing almost over the top of Gulf Harbour where the NZ Golf Open is currently being played, out over the Hauraki Gulf and directly over the crater of Rangitoto before turning up the Tamaki River and over the isthmus to the airport.

Air traffic is light at this hour, so we head straight in and a very short taxi to the prop gates.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Some current beer/wine counts.

AKL NZ dom lounge 17 different beers, 6 wines
AKL QF dom lounge 5 different beers, 6 wines
WLG QF dom lounge 5 different beers, 6 wines

 

[Altair]

Some current beer/wine counts.

AKL NZ dom lounge 17 different beers, 6 wines
AKL QF dom lounge 5 different beers, 6 wines
WLG QF dom lounge 5 different beers, 6 wines

AKL QF dom I counted 7 beers. (unless you do not count light beer as a beer!)
WLG NZ dom lounge has 23 different beers 6 wines (including 1 sparkling white)

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

So are you saying you cleaned them out of 2 different beers!? (Or hidden them in the fridge below the bench?)

I've been in QF dom AKL lounge a few times lately and got the same count each time.

 

[Altair]

So are you saying you cleaned them out of 2 different beers!? (Or hidden them in the fridge below the bench?)

I've been in QF dom AKL lounge a few times lately and got the same count each time.

No but I nearly missed the lights, one was a Steiny there other was.... probably not the one I had.
I am pretty sure there were 9 and the light beer did not impact me, but it was after an early morning start and doing a detailed review of general ledger accounts that lasted 7 hours.... oh I better go over those accounts to make sure they are right now . Regardless the QP is not as well appointed as the KC.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

No but I nearly missed the lights, one was a Steiny there other was.... probably not the one I had.
I am pretty sure there were 9 and the light beer did not impact me, but it was after an early morning start and doing a detailed review of general ledger accounts that lasted 7 hours.... oh I better go over those accounts to make sure they are right now . Regardless the QP is not as well appointed as the KC.

Now you say there were 9 - I didn't think I could miscount so badly.

Agree about QP vs KC, although I seem to spend longer in QP for some reason (perhaps all the delays to my QF flights lately - not many have been on time ). Yesterday's last flight was ridiculous. We left late but made up time en route to land almost on time, only to spend more than 1/4 of an hour sitting on the taxiway waiting for gate to clear. Afterwards I checked the schedule and this particular flight is almost guaranteed to do this every time, with 2 flights departing AKL - one at the same time as this flight arrives and the other 15 minutes later. Why oh why did QF make the schedule like this? Being the last flights of the day for each of the 3 a/c it isn't as if the a/c are needed for onward flight.

 

[Altair]

Now you say there were 9 - I didn't think I could miscount so badly.

Agree about QP vs KC, although I seem to spend longer in QP for some reason (perhaps all the delays to my QF flights lately - not many have been on time ). Yesterday's last flight was ridiculous. We left late but made up time en route to land almost on time, only to spend more than 1/4 of an hour sitting on the taxiway waiting for gate to clear. Afterwards I checked the schedule and this particular flight is almost guaranteed to do this every time, with 2 flights departing AKL - one at the same time as this flight arrives and the other 15 minutes later. Why oh why did QF make the schedule like this? Being the last flights of the day for each of the 3 a/c it isn't as if the a/c are needed for onward flight.

7 or 9....obviously my brain is not working this Monday morning. 7 I mean as in 7 deadly sins
I have seen the QF planes line up, in fact I feel that it is a regualr occurance as you said due to schedules. I think it has something to do with a scheduler's preference with certain numbers, but maybe that is true of all QF times.:?:
I have been flying NZ a lot more than normal due to QF scheduling and I swear they change their NZ dom schedule every quarter. I hope Jetconnect do get some more aircraft soon and that they upgrade the business class seats.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

7 or 9....obviously my brain is not working this Monday morning. 7 I mean as in 7 deadly sins
I have seen the QF planes line up, in fact I feel that it is a regualr occurance as you said due to schedules. I think it has something to do with a scheduler's preference with certain numbers, but maybe that is true of all QF times.:?:
I have been flying NZ a lot more than normal due to QF scheduling and I swear they change their NZ dom schedule every quarter. I hope Jetconnect do get some more aircraft soon and that they upgrade the business class seats.

At least they have more a/c with business seats flying domestically than NZ (although NZ's easier to spot in the schedule ). Agree the schedule is a bit odd. Another case in point - whenever there is a cabin crew shift change and 30 minute turnaround the 2nd flight is almost guaranteed to be late leaving.

 

[Altair]

At least they have more a/c with business seats flying domestically than NZ (although NZ's easier to spot in the schedule ). Agree the schedule is a bit odd. Another case in point - whenever there is a cabin crew shift change and 30 minute turnaround the 2nd flight is almost guaranteed to be late leaving.

Yes I remember you telling me about it. NZ8XX or NZ9XX.
The QF 737-400 looks to be running the AKL-WLG-AKL-WLG-AKL-WLG-AKL shift, while the other one is WLG-SYD-WLG-SYD-WLG but I have noticed that there have been some occasions when they have put both 737-400 on the WLG-AKL route, eg. my last flight when U2 concert goers caused mayhem for both airlines....maybe I should do a trip report:?:
I also used to get the 737-300 with BC seats when I took the evening CHC-WLG flight but I do not know if they still have it.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Yes I remember you telling me about it. NZ8XX or NZ9XX.
The QF 737-400 looks to be running the AKL-WLG-AKL-WLG-AKL-WLG-AKL shift, while the other one is WLG-SYD-WLG-SYD-WLG but I have noticed that there have been some occasions when they have put both 737-400 on the WLG-AKL route, eg. my last flight when U2 concert goers caused mayhem for both airlines....maybe I should do a trip report:?:
I also used to get the 737-300 with BC seats when I took the evening CHC-WLG flight but I do not know if they still have it.

My experience is rather different. Only rarely do I get 734 on AKL-WLG vv route. Most of the time I get all economy 733s (on all the domestic routes) but a modest proportion of the time old business seat in 733 (some routes/flights more likely than others but none guaranteed).

 

[Altair]

Ok I tried to track the 737-400 on tomorrow's schedule while talking on the phone to SO....I lost rack of both .
Anyway from my experience it looks as though QF has been moving the 734 around to help fit in the mx. as I have had a mix of WLG-AKL and AKL-WLG flight times and they do change between the types and I seem to get the 734 with the 733 only once both ways out of the last 6 r/t trips. What is certain is the first morning AKL-WLG is the 734 and then due to mx schedules and delays can go anywhere I guess, scheduled WLG-CHC.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Auckland to Rotorua (AKL-ROT) on NZ Beech 1900D

Arriving at the airport I use the quick check machines to check in. Hmm not much choice of seats available to me. I move out of assigned 2A which has no window and slightly narrower seat to one of the few available seats near the back. Once BP spits out I go to the security station near the machine (for I had used the ones by baggage reclaim rather than the ones by main check in) only to find it is closed and a sign for departures pointing towards the QF domestic terminal.

Ahh the new shopping mall connecting the 2 domestic terminals is open - yup again AIAL (Auckland airport) has put shopping interests ahead of passengers. Now departing jet pax have further to go, past the baggage claim, past the new shops to a new screening station, then upstairs to departures and the lounge. The old stairs and escalator are used for arriving pax. At the moment the old screening station still exists but no doubt will be converted to a shop shortly.

The lounge is quiet today. They are just clearing away mid morning food and replacing with the lunch time offering - cold cuts, salad items, rolls and lamingtons. Plus usual fruit, juices. The fridge is well stocked with many beers and several wines.

I check some email until boarding is announced, a little later than I'd expected. I don't even get downstairs before I am being paged and get paged again walking from one end of the terminal to the other.

The new area for prop flights has also opened. There is a separate check in (no quick check machines though) and extra seating (old seating still kept for now). This is years overdue as at busy times the prop gate lounge is overcrowded - barely enough room to stand let alone sit. A 2nd cafe near check in. The gate entrance has moved opposite the new check in. There is also a new luggage reclaim area for the prop flights, which saves the hassle of walking through congested check in area and should also speed up baggage delivery since no longer competing with several 737 flights worth of bags at the same time.

I board and am indeed the last pax, but we are not late. An infant is crying a storm, making it impossible to hear the safety recording or the pilot's announcements, but goes quiet once we are airborne. While taxiing out I see the chatham islands flight preparing to depart, a landing MH jet as well as a mixture of QF and NZ aircraft of various types landing and taking off. Soon it is our turn and we roll and rapidly in the air over the harbour.

There is a light cloud cover so get reasonable views of the low ranges and Firth of Thames, backdropped by the Coromandel Ranges and the waters of Bay of Plenty in the distance. We fly over lots of farmland and later forestry. In seemingly no time at all (well maybe 20 minutes) we are already descending over the Mamuku Ranges with the Rotorua lakes spread out before us like a string of blue pearls tossed down onto a rumpled green tablecloth. We turn around Mt Ngongotaha, fly over the small city and the moonlike landscape of Whakarewarewa thermal area before flying a short distance up the other side of the lake. Views of bush and forested cones all around and the peak of Mokoia Island jutting out of Lake Rotorua.

We land and pull up on the apron. The terminal redevelopment is mostly complete but a longish walk across the apron to the arrivals gate two thirds of the way down the terminal. Be prepared to get quite wet if it is raining.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Rotorua to Auckland (ROT-AKL) on NZ Beech 1900D

Check in area is devoid of pax and looms. The terminal seems to big for the number of flights Rotorua gets, even allowing for times when NZ and QF both have a 737 departing. Obviously a city with ambitions. Once checked in you have to go to a counter at the left of check in to pay for the terminal - aka NZ$5 development levy. This counter doubles as a mini shop (magazines and sweets only).

There is a cafe and oodles of plastic seating. To give an idea, it is probably more seating than Auckland domestic terminal has with many times the volume of flights. Yet despite this, the airport has no airline lounge (QF is understandable with just 1 flight a day, NZ is less so).

While I was waiting I saw a NZ 737 take off to Christchurch, raising a big dust cloud at the end of the runway when it started its roll and taking much of the runway length to take off.

It seems every one checked in early since boarding is called rather early. However the agent used the pa near check in and so wasn't at the gate when pax moved there. A few second wait. BPs are checked for the development levy sticker.

As with the flight down we have great views through scattered cloud. On descent to Auckland it is a bit bumpy both through the thin cloud and also beneath it as we cross thermals. We have stunning views of the twin harbours and city across the isthmus.

All too soon we are down, with a very short taxi - turn right when we slowed and straight ahead to the gate. Everyone was a bit polite on deplaning - the pilot had time to set the steps and wait around at the bottom before anyone moved. In these tiny a/c the pax at the rear have to wait for the pax at the front to deplane.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Christchurch to Hokitika (CHC-HKK) on NZ Beech 1900D

Once I had checked in I had just enough time to clear security and visit the lounge to freshen up before the flight. Boarding was called early, possibly due to the approaching storm front on both sides of the Southern Alps. Across the tarmac to the waiting aircraft – it seemed to be as far away as the international terminal so I was glad there was still bright sunshine and not the heavy rain visible in the distance falling beneath boiling black clouds.

The flight was full. The passengers in row two were disappointed to find there was no window and no view from their seats. We taxied a short distance and took off away from the clouds before turning low over the braided river. We then climbed across the patchwork plains and towards the towering mountains which were partly obscured by cloud spilling over from the far side. By the time we reached the foothills we were getting bounced around and flying in and out of clouds. So we only had glimpses of the rugged terrain below – high peaks and deep valleys, alpine lakes, scree slopes and tussocklands.

Over the divide the cloud was much thicker and so no views of the rainforest. We started descending when it felt we had hardly cleared the peaks hidden below. Several minutes later we broke out of the cloud to a stormy west coast, surf pounding the shore with lush hills rising steeply out of the sea. Heavy showers swept the area and so the pilots were kept busy turning windscreen wipers on and off and lining up the small airfield in between the low clouds.

On final approach we had views up the river valley into the mountains and flew low over the town centre. The airport is on a small plateau behind the township, and surprisingly has 2 runways. The terminal is a small chalet with a few seats and a tiny café.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Auckland to Nelson (AKL-NSN) on NZ Q300

At the NZ domestic terminal there were the expected huge queues everywhere, so I used the quick check machines near to where security used to be. Somehow most people overlook these 2 machines and so no wait for me (the other quick check machines near mainline check in have people queueing up). Even though I was checking in early there was no option to change seat. Fortunately the one I’d been assigned was good.

A bit of a wait at security – lots of infrequent travellers flying at the moment. Through and up to departures I head to the haven of the lounge. The lounge is quieter than usual and so a tranquil respite from the chaos outside.

There were lots of flights departing with aircraft strewn everywhere. Even some jet flights had to use stairs. With the congestion it was no surprise that the boarding call was a few minutes late. Once again the call in the lounge was a little bit late and so I hadn’t even reached the prop gate area when I was called for boarding along with another pax who was also using the lounge.

Some others have commented about the lack of space for carry ons in this aircraft type. While the overhead bins are indeed too small to fit a rollaboard, the flight attendant was happy to put any such bags in the hold tagged for collection on the tarmac on arrival. I didn’t have a rollaboard with me but instead other carry on with stuff for several days, Christmas and wedding presents and had more than enough room to stow all this.

Doors closed immediately after I boarded, and we soon joined the queue of aircraft waiting to take off. I confess I fell asleep, tiredness catching up with me, and only woke up over the wide western extremity of Cook Strait where we had great views of the mountains of both islands and the long curved tongue of sand enclosing Golden Bay, that is Farewell Spit. We descended along the shoreline, flying past Nelson City and its protective Boulder Bank (like Farewell Spit but made of boulders instead of sand) and over the beach. The motor camp was bursting at the seams, as is normal for this time of year. We buzzed some golfers metres before landing at a busy Nelson airport. Since I didn’t have checked bags I could quickly move through the throngs in the terminal and meet my ride outside.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Nelson to Wellington (NSN-WLG) on NZ Q300

Arriving at the airport where the two check in desks where overwhelmed trying to check in several full flights worth of pax. So I head to the quick check machine (Nelson is the only regional airport to have these, for which I am thankful today) and am soon done. Moments later I realise I’d forgotten to switch my FFP # over. Dang. This can only be fixed manually at check in (or subsequently on arrival). Since the queues are still bad I decide it isn’t worth the hassle of trying it here, but instead will try to fix it in Wellington.

Nelson airport is the largest in the country not served by jets, and has a small regional koru club as well as café, observation deck, picnic area etc. However, in the peak summer travel season in particular it is far too small for the large volume of passengers and will still be busy even with double the size.

With the terminal crowded and being a nice day I wait for boarding outside in a picnic area – the pa can still be heard out here. Boarding is late as each flight has standby passengers gratefully accepting seats given up by no shows, and the airport setup precludes more than one flight boarding at a time.

It is another full flight. I have flown this route many times and enjoy this flight as it is very short and affords great views of the mountains and sea, the peace of the Marlborough Sounds and the tempest of Cook Strait. Sometimes the flight isn’t so enjoyable, for in strong winds the flight path cuts across the wind direction leading to a bumpy flight and in hot weather strong thermals over the rugged terrain also provide plenty of turbulence. Today, however, the winds are calm and the skies partly cloudy.

Since I have a connecting flight, I head to the lounge on arrival and ask to change the FFP #, which the lounge agent does for me. However, so far mileage hasn’t credited to either FFP for this flight (but has for the flights before and after) so I’ll need to chase this up