Leaving on a jet plane…

May 31st, 2009

I am sitting at Vancouver Airport waiting to board my Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. The flight is about 13 hours long. It’s a direct, non-stop flight from Vancouver. I leave here at 9 p.m. (Friday) and will arrive in Auckland at about 6 a.m. on Sunday morning. I lose a day going to New Zealand, but gain it coming home.

On the plane…

I am fortunate enough to sit beside a lovely older woman (“Can you believe I’m 79?”she asks) who is heading home after a family wedding in Whistler. I am in Pacific Premium Economy, not quite the luxury of Business Premier, but very nice.  There is more legroom than I expected and we are served the same dinner as business class – and the choices are excellent. We start with wild British Columbia smoked salmon, citrus crème fraiche and baby chervil salad. Then I have a choice of braised pressed lamb shanked with glazed root vegetables, parsnip puree and spiced Okanagan plum compote or herb panko crumbed Alaskan cod with sambal prawns, citrus salsa and fine green bean, potato and red onion salad or pancetta and sage wrapped chicken thigh, asparagus fingerling potatoes, and an apple manuka glaze.

Dessert is a lemon curd tart with mascarpone vanilla ice cream and there is a lovely selection of New Zealand wines to accompany it. As far as airline food goes, it was not too shabby! Going back to a bag of pretzels and a glass of juice on other carriers is going to be a challenge.

As soon as I got on the plane, I was immediately asked if I would like a glass of champagne. I met my seatmate, had some dinner and a glass of wine, and watched a movie…it’s now time for bed! The seats go back quite far, Air New Zealand provides a nice little travel pack with an eye mask, socks and other amenities, as well as a nice (not scratchy!!) blanket.

I had the chance to check out the economy seats. While I think anyone would prefer to be in the comfy big, pod-like seats that just about turn into a bed in business class, the economy seats are bigger than normal and there seemed to be a reasonable amount of room. I asked a few people who had economy seats and everyone seemed to be comfortable. And every person I asked mentioned the great prices for flights to New Zealand right now.

In the morning when I woke up, the coffee was brewing. The flight crew had been checking on me all night to make sure everything was ok. (I woke up a bit early and didn’t want to disturb my seatmate by turning on lights or watching a movie, so I sat and contemplated life by looking out the window. Our lovely flight attendant came by and brought me a cup of tea without me even having to ask!)

Once people started to stir on the flight, juice and coffee and tea were served and we chose our breakfast. Fresh fruit, fresh baked (or at least that’s how they smelled and tasted!) croissants, cereal and yogurt and a choice of scrambled eggs with homemade vine ripened tomato relish and mini-potato hash or French toast panettone fruit bread, local berry compote and cinnamon crème fraiche.

And – then I was in Auckland! In just one sleep.