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Home / Travel

Flying from Auckland to Christchurch with Air New Zealand

By Api Talemaitoga
NZ Herald·
16 Jan, 2018 06:00 PM2 mins to read

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An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 lifts off from Christchurch. Photo / NZME

An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 lifts off from Christchurch. Photo / NZME

Api Talemaitoga flies from Auckland to Christchurch — again — on Air New Zealand's flight NZ531.

The Plane: Airbus A320 — the workhorse of the Air New Zealand Domestic and Pacific fleet. This is my usual weekly commute for my Monday-to-Wednesday job in the Garden City.

My seat: 3D.

Price: $69 — Seat-only fare purchased ages ago during an Air NZ 24-hour sale.

On time: Boarding started 9.35am. Doors closed 9.56am. Taxiing started 10.01am. This was the second day of interruptions at Auckland Airport because of the leaking aviation fuel pipeline near Marsden Point.

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How full: Packed, as usual.

Fellow passengers: Usual mix of people travelling for work, and tourists. You can always spot the returning residents from overseas holidays by their easy tan and bulging duty-free shopping bags.

Entertainment: Just the safety video with Katie Holmes and Cuba Gooding Jr and the NZ trivia quiz.

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Service: The usual relaxed, friendly and chatty crew that you expect from the national carrier. Great interaction with passengers.

Food and Drink: Coffee, water or tea with biscuits or corn chips. The woman across the aisle asked for sweeteners (two!) rather than sugar – really! Really? Is there a point to going sugar-free?

Toilets: Clean as. But I don't usually have the need to use the loo on this 1hr 20m direct flight.

Airport Experience: The Koru Lounge at the Auckland domestic terminal was tidy and the usual breakfast offerings in plentiful supply. I had two flat whites from the lounge barista, which were nice.

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Would I fly again? I have to — every Monday morning! It's been part of my routine for the past five years.

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