Flight check: Flying from Auckland to Denpasar with Emirates

Photo / File

Helen Van Berkel flies aboard Emirates EK450 from Auckland to Denpasar, Indonesia.

The check-in experience: Couldn't have been easier. We checked in online before we got to the airport. But it seemed to be our day for queuing behind first-time fliers who were full of questions. Can I buy food in duty free? When do I have to go to my gate? If I go there can I come back? Sister, the check-in person who has a thousand people to get on to planes is not the person to ask. But when it was our turn, we were quickly relieved of our bags and could relax in duty free while we waited for the plane to take off.

The plane: A Boeing 777-300. Emirates is phasing these out of their fleet, with 777-200LRs coming into service.

My seat: 28J. My daughter was in 28H and I already had the conversation ready to ask the person between us to swap seats but there was no "I" and we were seated together. A young Frenchman who, judging from the questions: "Why are we going to Bali?" was also on his first flight made up the rest of the row. We also enjoyed what felt like a few more inches of leg room than usual.

Fellow passengers: The flight was flying on to Dubai after dropping us off in Bali and most of the people on board seemed to be heading there.

The toilets: Exactly what do people get up to in plane toilets? I carefully time my loo visits to green lights but someone got there before me and I had to do what I hate doing: stand around outside loo doors, huffing and puffing my impatience while an inconsiderate passenger did god-knows-what for 15 minutes. I finally gave up and went aft — only to be beaten to the post again.

The food: Salmon or butter chicken. Even my fussy companion had nothing to complain about. Tea and coffee were offered at regular intervals but anything stronger required a visit by the steward to the galley.

The entertainment: A reasonable selection of TV shows and movies filled the flight time.
On time: The only delay for the entire flight was the luggage that took about half an hour to arrive. But the foot-shuffling annoyance became a distant memory when we realised the delay meant everyone else had passed through Customs by the time we got there and our trip through took seconds.

Would I fly again? This was my first Emirates flight and it is easy to see why the airline has such a good reputation wherever it goes. It was one of the most uneventful flights I have been on, from the fast and efficient check-in, through to the boarding, takeoff, on-flight service, landing and disembarking. So, yes, Emirates is on my list of airlines to fly with again.