Considering flying to New Zealand to ski or snowboard? SnowsBest reviews Air New Zealand’s three hour direct flight from Sydney to Queenstown.
Air New Zealand have always been cheeky with their marketing. Their inflight safety videos featuring Richard Simmons, the All Blacks and Bear Grylls (to name a few) make worldwide headlines. The declaration that NZ is only three hours away for Australian skiers and boarders caused some stir when first launched but it has been adjusted to ‘a three hour flight away’ which is just as well because door to door it’s the same for Sydney siders as driving to Thredbo or Perisher.
But the difference is you’re not driving the plane yourself, nor stopping at roadside diners for bad meals and instant coffee. Plus you get inflight movies and meals brought to you and toilets that flush.
Flight: NZ838
Plane: Airbus A320 with a 3×3 seat configuration
When: My journey was pre ski season in May, though snow did fall while I was there.
Why: I was heading across the ditch for a week at Aro Ha Wellness Retreat and a nosey at The Remarkables new base lodge in progress.
Ticket type: The Works (this ticket option includes meals and gate to gate inflight entertainment).
Lounge access: Yes, I was given lounge access. However the Sydney lounge was undergoing major renovations in order to launch their new lounge so I was directed to the temporary lounge. Staff were friendly but food options were limited due to reduced space which is clearly a first world problem.
Inflight food: Who doesn’t love Kapiti Ice Cream? The NZ ice cream brand is practically a staple on an Air New Zealand flight. I am sure I had something savoury too but only so I could get to the Kapiti quicker.
Service: I have never had a bad crew when flying Air New Zealand. Not sure what they are putting in the staff water but it sure is working. One crew member brought me, unprompted, a tissue mid flight when he noticed I was crying while watching the movie Wild.
The young 8 year old girl who was celebrating her birthday looked pretty chuffed to be an honorary cabin member and hand out the boiled lollies down the aisle before the plane descended.
Overall: The plane was shiny and clean outside and in. I had an empty seat next to me so I could stretch out a bit, or at least put my laptop down.
But what I have always loved the most about Air New Zealand is the gate to gate entertainment. They were one of the first in the region to offer this and it means you can get lost in a movie while the plane is still boarding and passengers are trying to push a bag the size of an elephant into the overhead cabin above.
There’s a good selection of new release movies, television series, documentaries and the like and you can order more food from the inflight entertainment console.
The flight was smooth with no turbulence and those always impressive views of the Southern Alps from the window seats as you fly into Queenstown. Alighting the plane at Queenstown International Airport is still a tarmac walk, albeit it brief.
Thumbs up: Intuitive service was the definite winner on what was an uneventful and seamless short flight which is just how you want it when flying direct to the alpine resort town.
Thumbs down: If I had to be picky then I would say the wi-fi in the temporary lounge (now redundant) which was not working properly so I had to hotspot from my phone which had reduced coverage due to the temporary basement location.
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Read more: Air New Zealand Sky Couch review
SnowsBest was hosted by Air New Zealand
I too was an honorary crew member many, many moons ago and handed out the boiled lollies!