NYC > LA > Auckland. Been there, done that.

We embarked on our trip from our home in the Northern Hemisphere to what we refer to as opposite land. After traveling 18 hrs (not counting our 3 hour layover in LA) we made it to Auckland at 7am on Saturday—where it is summer—while at home it was still 1pm on Friday in Winter. That international date line can really mess with your mind if you think about it too much so we’re just going with the flow and know that when we leave Auckland days from now at 6pm on a Sunday we will arrive home at 7am---that same Sunday.

See—you are thinking about it aren’t you?

All in all, the trip to NZ went off without a hitch. As much as I preach about having a “positive mental attitude” and to “just go with the flow,” there is something to be said about expecting the absolute worst and since that is a natural trait of my husband when it comes to airlines (who can blame him really?) that is what we did and as history has shown—for us anyway-- we were pleasantly surprised.

To state a fact most won’t disagree with: flying in the US is a pain. There aren’t many nice things to say about any of the airlines these days. Put aside the bag charges and the blanket hoarding or the $5 headset rentals for a VHS movie they OWN, there are many things about flying that will cause immediate headaches.

With that said, our flight to LA was forgettable. In fact, I do forget it. That is troubling actually. I seriously do not remember anything about it. Maybe because it was like 3 days ago even though I am still wearing the same clothes as when I got on that flight (PS: I am going on being awake for nearly like 8 days [more like 2 not counting the small interrupted naps I managed on the plane] so please forgive any attitude this post may be tainted with.

ANYWAY— as we boarded the Air New Zealand flight we were of course skeptical and expected the worst. Because we chose not to pay $14,000 dollars for “premier economy” seats (an actual price), we chose seats in the regular “oh that flight is going to suck in economy” economy section. Expecting the worst, I rolled my jeans up (you know how those airplane bathroom floors get—gross!) and repeated aloud to my husband like it were a bible verse the every 3-hour exercise regiment I devised consisting mainly of deep knee bends in the aisle to avoid blood clots and sore joints.

I am sure you can imagine our delight when our hardened faces and the stink eye I was giving my seat mate (not to my husband--I was in the middle seat and the guy on my right was sort of big) began to slowly dissipate and we found ourselves laughing at the very well done safety video played on all of the TV seat backs. The “star” was a kiwi puppet (kiwi being the NZ mascot) and he poked fun at the “fancy shamncey” first class people who didn’t have to raise their seatbacks for take off and the really funny part when he had issues with his inflatable oxygen mask---wait, why were we laughing at that?

My point is, from the minute we got on that flight and realized our legroom was ample enough, the food being better than prison grade and the over 200 different movies and TV shows available to watch for free on the seatbacks (complete with remote control)—the flight from LA to Auckland was a breeze. The sleep meds we took I’m sure played a supporting role, but not much—clearly since we only got about 5 hours of sleep through the entire day. Or days?
Air New Zealand is my new favorite airline. I wonder if they’d consider flying domestically in the US…

Comments

[Gina]

love love this article, hilarious!

[Karen]

You are so funny, Di.....and so right about US airline travel (and most Canadian airlines, too). Well done, Air NZ!

[Diana Ellefson]

Thanks Gina! It was fun to write too!
Thanks Karen-- I have heard Canadian isn't all that great either-- but I don't think anything is as bad as US travel.