Flying from Auckland to Houston with Air New Zealand

Winston Aldworth flies NZ28 From Auckland to Houston. Photo / Winston Aldworth

Winston Aldworth flies NZ28 to Texas

The plane: A Boeing 777-200. Longest range of the Air New Zealand 777s.

Class: Economy.

My seat: Pop quiz, mofo! Assigned to 59D — that's the third-to-last row of the plane, folks — I was confronted with a troubling conundrum. 61D (also an aisle seat) has an empty seat next to it, while in 59D, there's a neighbour. So do I sit with a neighbour three forward of the galley, or bite the bullet and sit in the hindmost row (seriously, any further back and I'd be pushing the damn plane) with an empty seat next to me?

A tough call. And on such a long flight, it's important to get it right. I take the back row, with the empty seat alongside.

How full? Business and Premium Economy are full; there are about 12 empties dotted throughout the Economy Class cabin.

Fellow passengers: Mostly Kiwi holidaymakers heading to the States, but with a heavy smattering of American travellers among them. Given how full this flight is, I'm guessing American tourists from the East Coast are cottoning on to the fact Houston provides an easier run than Los Angeles when they're heading for New Zealand.

Entertainment: I chuckled and grimaced through David Brent: Life on the Road over dinner. Then it was straight into the latest Jason Bourne movie which bears such a resemblance to the earlier Jason Bourne movies it could borrow one of their passports and slide right past a security check.

Food and drink: A not particularly memorable buffer for delivering two Zopiclone tablets into my bloodstream. Job done.

Service: Slick and friendly as ever. You can't beat the Kiwi tone for taking the edge off longhaul upheaval. That and two Zopiclone tablets.

Airport experience: Auckland Airport is chocker, but I was pretty slick getting through Customs. Once on the other side, I got to spend half an hour with a good friend who was flying out to LA a little after me. We headed for the airport's Emperor Lounge — when the terminal is busy, it's a nice sanctuary from the masses.