She has shared her story in the hope it makes people more aware of what can happen to others in what she describes as a very vulnerable position.
The woman boarded the long-haul flight as the final part of her journey from the UK.
"As soon as I sat down he kept staring at me, I got a weird vibe from him straight away," the woman said.
"They dimmed the lights for take-off and as soon as we took off he put his hand on my knee. I thought it must be an accident because his eyes were closed."
The woman moved her leg but the man persisted and progressed to stroking her thigh despite her constantly removing his hand and trying to move away.
"I was in shock and brushed him off - he did it about five times, going back and rubbing my leg. I was frozen in my seat and couldn't move because we were still taking off," the woman said.
The man, a Hungarian national, then grabbed the woman's hand and started kissing it.
"I took it away and I got angry at that stage and asked him what he was doing but he couldn't speak English and was just laughing."
Despite the woman's protests the man continued to grope her around the shoulders until the lights came on and the woman was able to get up from her seat to alert staff.
Flight attendants moved the woman to an empty seat between two New Zealand women and questioned the man who, through his daughter, initially denied anything had happened.
"I was crying and shaking, it was scary, pretty awful," the woman said.
"The women I sat with made me feel a lot better but I was just a couple of rows in front of him so he kept walking past and looking at me."
The captain was informed of the incident and crew checked on the woman throughout the flight.
Police were at the gate when the plane touched down in New Zealand but the woman was told by Kiwi police it was outside their jurisdiction.
"I am speaking out because it could have been a 16-year-old girl, a child or someone who didn't feel comfortable speaking up," the woman said.
"What if he had waited until I was asleep. If I had fallen asleep next to him, he would have done a lot worse."
The woman had planned on taking a sleeping pill on the flight and is thankful she didn't.
"You're in a confined space, the lights are dimmed, you often have a drink or take sleeping pills and someone is just 10 cm away from you so it is a really vulnerable position to be in," the woman said.
"You can't just leave."
On landing, the woman made a statement to police, was told the man had been spoken to, admitted what had happened, and was given a warning.
She understood the man was in a tour group, which included his daughter, and had plans to board a cruise to Australia.
Police informed her that the leader of the tour has been informed about the incident.
Victim advocate Louise Nicholas commended the woman for speaking out.
"Good on her for coming forward to raise awareness," Nicholas said.
"It sounds like everyone involved did what they could and at least people with this man are aware of what happened."
New Zealand police confirmed they attended an incident at Auckland Airport about 4.20am on Friday following a report of someone behaving inappropriately on a flight.
"Police spoke with those involved. No arrests were made."
In a statement, Qatar Airways said: "Rest assured, that we do give our passenger's safety a paramount importance and our crew will extend their best efforts to assist the passengers in need.
"This incident was reported immediately through internal channels as per the protocol and the relevant authorities were notified upon the aircraft arrival. Necessary actions were taken by the local authorities. Nonetheless, your article has been shared with our relevant team for their review."
