Flight check review: New York City to Auckland with Qantas

The Qantas flight from New York City to Auckland covers over 14,000 km in approximately 17 hours. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:

Victoria Mulligan travels from New York City to Auckland with Qantas on a non-stop 17-hour flight.

Airline: Qantas

From: John F Kennedy Airport, New York City

To: Auckland International Airport

Visas and requirements: I was travelling by myself and my husband assured me more than once that “all you need for the US is an ESTA and that takes about 20 minutes”. You can imagine how stoked I was when he texted me the day before departure and said “um, I just checked the ESTA website and they reckon it can take up to 72 hours. I think you should be sweet though?”. The question mark at the end of his statement said it all really. Fortunately it did take just a few hours, including a false start where I followed a very official-looking Google ad and almost paid an extra $USD100 for the privilege. Watch out for that.

Departure airport experience: Everybody warned me JFK is a nightmare. In fact while, in general, nobody in New York City wants to take off their ear buds and help you, when it came to the airport run everyone I met was playing travel agent. I should leave THREE HOURS MINIMUM to check in and take THESE SPECIFIC TRAINS to get there. As it turns out there would be a different problem to endless security lines: the UN General Assembly was in town and VIPs had gridlocked the airspace. Our plane boarded an hour late, then we sat on the tarmac for two hours waiting for a take-off window. A Qantas crew member didn’t wander down the aisle and check if we were all hydrated during this time.

Seat: I got a single economy seat on sale a few weeks out and it was a steal at $2000 return. Understandably this put me at the very back of the plane, in a middle seat. My discounted seat meant I couldn’t bid for an upgrade.

Crew: They are nice but they didn’t show passengers as much interest as I expected on such a long flight.

Passengers: The flight was full both ways, with lots of young families in Economy. The guy next to me was en route to Sydney (Auckland is technically a layover on this flight) and part-way through a world circuit of ultra marathons. Sweet, I thought, maybe he’ll give me his wine.

Food and drink: You may enjoy drinks and alcohol on this flight, but it felt sparsely offered unless you asked for it.

After all of those delays in New York I was ready to eat my own hand by the time dinner service rolled through at about 10pm local time. Portions were on the small side but it was good to see them offering healthy options like poke bowls (you know, for the ultra-marathon runners among us).

Entertainment: Perhaps slightly fewer options than our national carrier but as a Packed to the Rafters tragic I enjoyed their Aussie drama section.

Some discounted Qantas tickets may not allow online check-in for certain flights. Photo / 123RF

Arrival airport experience: Returning to New Zealand is like a soothing balm after the stress, sirens and grumpiness of New York, and that applies even to the airport. From the first laid-back staff member you meet you’re reminded of what you love about home. I bought my husband three bottles of duty-free gin to show there were no hard feelings about the ESTA situation but he packed them against the door of the boot and they smashed on the ground when we opened it, so I guess he’s still holding a grudge.

The best bit: The price was great!

The worst bit: They gave me a free toothbrush but when I began brushing, the bristles all fell out of the brush.

Final verdict: At times, it did feel like the bare minimum experience - but I had paid a bare minimum price.

qantas.com/nz/en