It seems that someone has caught on to my idea of reaching all 26 airports that Air New Zealand operate to and from in NZ.....
Air NZ Tiki Tour
Although, the travel is inteded for within 6 days - not bad for a mileage run, without the mileage though!
It is for a good cause....I wonder what it will go for? Currently at $788 (6/12/2010)
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Monday, December 6, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Slow on the Updates....
Apologies for not updating, I have a couple of things to add and hoping to get WAG and MRO ticked off soon...I have also a comment on the WLG-DUD-WLG run I did a while back....
Also trying to work out how to hold onto my BA silver AND NZ gold. I have since fallen from the heady heights of Gold Elite, so no Christmas pressie for me this year!
Obtaining NZ gold is pretty easy and relatively cheap to do on *A airlines other than NZ. The challenge for me is the NZ metal 900 points you need to attain for NZ GE. This basically means J class flights to really get amongst the AP's - these as a one off affair do not come cheap and I can't justify them at this moment in time - despite the government adding a few more shillings i my pocket courtesy of some tax cuts....
Also trying to work out how to hold onto my BA silver AND NZ gold. I have since fallen from the heady heights of Gold Elite, so no Christmas pressie for me this year!
Obtaining NZ gold is pretty easy and relatively cheap to do on *A airlines other than NZ. The challenge for me is the NZ metal 900 points you need to attain for NZ GE. This basically means J class flights to really get amongst the AP's - these as a one off affair do not come cheap and I can't justify them at this moment in time - despite the government adding a few more shillings i my pocket courtesy of some tax cuts....
Sunday, August 15, 2010
End of a long day...
I will post my travels of today (ahead of a couple of airports that I have ticked off previously) as it is fresh in my head.
It was an early start as i had been booked for a very full day today by those great people at Eagle Air. The aim was to clear the last three airports I have on my list, W(h)anganui, Gisborne and Kaitaia.
The itinery I had was pretty full on, WLG-AKL-WAG-AKL-GIS-AKL-KAT-AKL-WLG, a total of 8 sectors in 11hours!
The most challenging thing was the connection onto WAG. Only 5minutes according to my e-ticket!
I waited outside for my taxi at 6am and got a phone call which promptly made my phone go dead with no battery power left -damn. I think it was the taxi company phoning.....
Well 10minutes later still no taxi. So i had to go back to the house and phone to chase them up. turns out the guy left without me, despite me being on time?! A new taxi arrived just as I was about to give up and take the car or get another taxi...
The guy floored it and we made it to the airport as boarding had commenced - no time for the lounge and breakfast then! Also no time to talk with the ground staff to discuss my tight connection time.
We departed on time thankfully, and were off to the south with a turn over the cook strait and AKL bound.
We arrived on the stand just before 8am and I had mentioned to the aircrew on our decent about my tight connection. They couldn't get through to the ground crew as descent had commenced and didn't want to disturb the pilots. They radioed through on landing and I heard the radio when I reached the regional gates that are a fair run away from the jet gates....
I had missed it. Not sure by how many minutes, but i couldn't have been more than a couple or five....
I guess it was a long shot and a big ask to make a 5minute connection at AKL dom! so it was off to the Koru club for a breakfast and coffee. I still had the GIS flight at 10.45am so it gave me a couple of hours to write up a blog or two (see previous) and check emails etc.
Half an hour before the departure time, I was paged to the desk and asked if I wanted to voluntarily be bumped and take the next GIS flight....I explained my flight schedule and that as the KAT flight was the only one of the day, it was difficult to re-route around that and get home to WLG today. She told me that as I was on a staff travel booking, if they couldn't find anyone else, I would be moved.
Luckily no more pages and I left for the regional gates again and my boarding pass went through ok. Off to GIsborne ontime too.
Flight was under an hour and we had a 25min turnaround in GIS before heading back.
The terminal is pretty small, although has by the looks of it a pretty good cafe. More info here
and here.
GIS's claim to fame is that it is the only runway in the world that has a railway line running through it! I didn't actually notice during my visit, although I do remember hearing that there is an airport with a railway line running across the air strip...
Back to AKL and another visit to the Koru lounge for some lunch. Not much in the way of hot food, a curried soup I think. I ended up running for the Kaitaia flight due to a lack of lounge announcements until the final one calling me by name. I legged it to the other end of the terminal and got there just in time....(lucky this time!). I had mistakenly been looking at the boarding time of my return portion instead of the outbound and got it into my head that it was boarding at 10 past the hour and not the correct 5 to the hour...
Kaitaia was a very small airport as you would expect for the far north. It is the northern most airport on the AirNZ network, so today I have completed the furthest north and the furthest east...
25minutes and we were off again back to the city of sails.
Another stop at the Koru club and this time a beer and snack. The jet back to Welly was at 5pm so I had about 30mins to relax and reflect on if I could have feasibly caught that first flight. the only way would have been if they had held it for me. Oh well, I guess I will add WAG to MRO to complete another day....
It was an early start as i had been booked for a very full day today by those great people at Eagle Air. The aim was to clear the last three airports I have on my list, W(h)anganui, Gisborne and Kaitaia.
The itinery I had was pretty full on, WLG-AKL-WAG-AKL-GIS-AKL-KAT-AKL-WLG, a total of 8 sectors in 11hours!
The most challenging thing was the connection onto WAG. Only 5minutes according to my e-ticket!
I waited outside for my taxi at 6am and got a phone call which promptly made my phone go dead with no battery power left -damn. I think it was the taxi company phoning.....
Well 10minutes later still no taxi. So i had to go back to the house and phone to chase them up. turns out the guy left without me, despite me being on time?! A new taxi arrived just as I was about to give up and take the car or get another taxi...
The guy floored it and we made it to the airport as boarding had commenced - no time for the lounge and breakfast then! Also no time to talk with the ground staff to discuss my tight connection time.
We departed on time thankfully, and were off to the south with a turn over the cook strait and AKL bound.
We arrived on the stand just before 8am and I had mentioned to the aircrew on our decent about my tight connection. They couldn't get through to the ground crew as descent had commenced and didn't want to disturb the pilots. They radioed through on landing and I heard the radio when I reached the regional gates that are a fair run away from the jet gates....
I had missed it. Not sure by how many minutes, but i couldn't have been more than a couple or five....
I guess it was a long shot and a big ask to make a 5minute connection at AKL dom! so it was off to the Koru club for a breakfast and coffee. I still had the GIS flight at 10.45am so it gave me a couple of hours to write up a blog or two (see previous) and check emails etc.
Half an hour before the departure time, I was paged to the desk and asked if I wanted to voluntarily be bumped and take the next GIS flight....I explained my flight schedule and that as the KAT flight was the only one of the day, it was difficult to re-route around that and get home to WLG today. She told me that as I was on a staff travel booking, if they couldn't find anyone else, I would be moved.
Luckily no more pages and I left for the regional gates again and my boarding pass went through ok. Off to GIsborne ontime too.
Flight was under an hour and we had a 25min turnaround in GIS before heading back.
The terminal is pretty small, although has by the looks of it a pretty good cafe. More info here
and here.
GIS's claim to fame is that it is the only runway in the world that has a railway line running through it! I didn't actually notice during my visit, although I do remember hearing that there is an airport with a railway line running across the air strip...
Back to AKL and another visit to the Koru lounge for some lunch. Not much in the way of hot food, a curried soup I think. I ended up running for the Kaitaia flight due to a lack of lounge announcements until the final one calling me by name. I legged it to the other end of the terminal and got there just in time....(lucky this time!). I had mistakenly been looking at the boarding time of my return portion instead of the outbound and got it into my head that it was boarding at 10 past the hour and not the correct 5 to the hour...
25minutes and we were off again back to the city of sails.
Another stop at the Koru club and this time a beer and snack. The jet back to Welly was at 5pm so I had about 30mins to relax and reflect on if I could have feasibly caught that first flight. the only way would have been if they had held it for me. Oh well, I guess I will add WAG to MRO to complete another day....
Westport and Gisborne (or not) next
The next installment was a double visit again. WLG-WSZ was first up and with a return back to Welly to catch the Gissy flight. All on a Sunday 20/6/10.
A leisurely departure of 12.05pm was called and after a light lunch in the lounge it was off to the gate to rejoin the B1900 planes i have become so familiar with.
We had a little bit of a delay due to weather and were off to the west coast of the south island. The terminal is a single room as are so many of the little regional airports. I was on a staff travel ticket and they were able to book the turn arounds, so it was to be a 25minute visit. However, there was a delay in Westport as the wind was getting up and was a cross wind on the very exposed air strip (right next to the coastline!).
So the departure time came and went and I started to get concerned about the connecting flight to Gisborne. And sure enough the wind and visibility was still poor when the point where a theoretical connection to the GIS flight came and went. There was not much i could do, so I guess this one will have to be ticked off another time.
We left Westport after a break in the weather with the cross wind dying down and managed to get away around 2hours after scheduled departure. Oh well, at least I ticked off one airport and the whole day was not lost....
A leisurely departure of 12.05pm was called and after a light lunch in the lounge it was off to the gate to rejoin the B1900 planes i have become so familiar with.
We had a little bit of a delay due to weather and were off to the west coast of the south island. The terminal is a single room as are so many of the little regional airports. I was on a staff travel ticket and they were able to book the turn arounds, so it was to be a 25minute visit. However, there was a delay in Westport as the wind was getting up and was a cross wind on the very exposed air strip (right next to the coastline!).
So the departure time came and went and I started to get concerned about the connecting flight to Gisborne. And sure enough the wind and visibility was still poor when the point where a theoretical connection to the GIS flight came and went. There was not much i could do, so I guess this one will have to be ticked off another time.
We left Westport after a break in the weather with the cross wind dying down and managed to get away around 2hours after scheduled departure. Oh well, at least I ticked off one airport and the whole day was not lost....
Another big trip 11/6/10
Next trip was also arranged by the good people of Eagle Air.
I had also been looking at getting to MRO (Masterton). The itinery that was sent to me covered Whangerei and KeriKeri on a saturday in June. The flight up from WLG was the redeye and so I had an idea that I could fly up the night before from MRO and tick that one off and jump onto the WRE and KKE flights starting in AKL.
I figured that the easiest way to MRO was by train and caught the 5.35pm on the friday upto Masterton. The train journey was quite pleasant, spent the time watching a movie on my netbook and we got to Masterton in around 2hours. I had an hour to get myself to the airport and tried walking it, but didn't get too far so caught a taxi to make sure i didn't miss the flight.
The plane arrived on time, but the fog was coming in and we were delayed for it to lift. Only problem was it didn't...In the end the flight was cancelled and I ended up having to stay at the copthorn in town. It meant i lost my money for the Auckland hotel i had booked and had to shell out for the masterton hotel. There was no way round it as the trains had stopped running if i were to go back to WLG. I then had to phone AirNZ and warn them that i will not make the early departure upto WRE as I was stuck in MRO!
I got up at 6 and headed to the airport where they had put on a bus over to Palmy to get us up to AKL. This meant for all intents and purposes i had visited MRO but had physically flown from there!
We had a 30min wait in palmy and i had managed to contact Eagle so they could push my flights for the day forwards (thankfully there was a number of flights to choose from and they could be moved forward during the day).
Whangerei was the first stop and very nice too. Reasonable sized airport (by regional standards and a really good approach on a fine day...
Turn around was swift 25mins and we were back to AKL. A short stop over in the lounge for refuelling and a bite and it was back upto to KeriKeri, a smaller airport. The temperatrure difference when landing in KKE was noticeable and the sun was shining (compared to WLG!).
KKE is also known as Bay of Islands airport as it is nestled in this wonderful part of NZ. I took some air outside the little terminal and gave an update to my wife on my travels so far. It was again the quick turnaround and we were heading back to AKL.
The pilots were a little curious, so an explanation of my escapades was required and met with shrugs...
As I had managed to move my flights forwards I ended up getting home quite late, but it was a great day all the same and to cap it all, I was given a boarding pass with seat assignment 24A....which as the seats don't go that far, meant another jumpseat flight!
I took my seat (right behind the cockpit door) and strapped myself after a safety briefing by the two pilots. We had a good chat about what i was doing and discussed a recent accident involving the 733 aircraft and the fact that it can be flown by almost anyone with some control tower assistance for landing it. Landing was good with only light winds (light for welly anyway). We arrived on time and it was a privilege to fly in the jumpseat of a jet. The electronics in the cockpit are another league compared to the little B1900's, but very similar in what does what etc...
I had also been looking at getting to MRO (Masterton). The itinery that was sent to me covered Whangerei and KeriKeri on a saturday in June. The flight up from WLG was the redeye and so I had an idea that I could fly up the night before from MRO and tick that one off and jump onto the WRE and KKE flights starting in AKL.
I figured that the easiest way to MRO was by train and caught the 5.35pm on the friday upto Masterton. The train journey was quite pleasant, spent the time watching a movie on my netbook and we got to Masterton in around 2hours. I had an hour to get myself to the airport and tried walking it, but didn't get too far so caught a taxi to make sure i didn't miss the flight.
The plane arrived on time, but the fog was coming in and we were delayed for it to lift. Only problem was it didn't...In the end the flight was cancelled and I ended up having to stay at the copthorn in town. It meant i lost my money for the Auckland hotel i had booked and had to shell out for the masterton hotel. There was no way round it as the trains had stopped running if i were to go back to WLG. I then had to phone AirNZ and warn them that i will not make the early departure upto WRE as I was stuck in MRO!
I got up at 6 and headed to the airport where they had put on a bus over to Palmy to get us up to AKL. This meant for all intents and purposes i had visited MRO but had physically flown from there!
We had a 30min wait in palmy and i had managed to contact Eagle so they could push my flights for the day forwards (thankfully there was a number of flights to choose from and they could be moved forward during the day).
Whangerei was the first stop and very nice too. Reasonable sized airport (by regional standards and a really good approach on a fine day...
Turn around was swift 25mins and we were back to AKL. A short stop over in the lounge for refuelling and a bite and it was back upto to KeriKeri, a smaller airport. The temperatrure difference when landing in KKE was noticeable and the sun was shining (compared to WLG!).
KKE is also known as Bay of Islands airport as it is nestled in this wonderful part of NZ. I took some air outside the little terminal and gave an update to my wife on my travels so far. It was again the quick turnaround and we were heading back to AKL.
The pilots were a little curious, so an explanation of my escapades was required and met with shrugs...
As I had managed to move my flights forwards I ended up getting home quite late, but it was a great day all the same and to cap it all, I was given a boarding pass with seat assignment 24A....which as the seats don't go that far, meant another jumpseat flight!
I took my seat (right behind the cockpit door) and strapped myself after a safety briefing by the two pilots. We had a good chat about what i was doing and discussed a recent accident involving the 733 aircraft and the fact that it can be flown by almost anyone with some control tower assistance for landing it. Landing was good with only light winds (light for welly anyway). We arrived on time and it was a privilege to fly in the jumpseat of a jet. The electronics in the cockpit are another league compared to the little B1900's, but very similar in what does what etc...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
WLG-BHE-CHC-HKK-CHC-WLG 30/5/10
This was the first of my trips that Air NZ helped me with. The flight to Blenheim rather than straight to CHC was to pick up the B1900 flight that will be continuing to HKK. Less chance of a misconnect if you are on the same plane for most of the sectors!
I arrived in Blenheim to a lovely day and the B1900 to take me to HKK (Hokitika) arrived.
When boarding commenced I was handed a pair of headphones and assigned seat 1F. Upon boarding the pilots said hi and showed me how to plug in the headphones and I could listen to them and the air traffic control - very cool. we took off on time and I listened to the pilots going through the checklists and conversations with air traffic control.
We cruised at around 9000feet and had fantastic views of the southern alps.
The views on the way over were great and I had a good chat with the pilots on AirNZ flying and their enthuasiasm for the B1900D which had no autopilot and gives them a chance to "fly properly!"
We arrived in Hokitika and had a few minutes turnaround before heading back to CHC.
The airport is pretty tiny with a little cafe and waiting area. The Aero club is next door to the airport terminal and had a few little cessna's parked up.
Again we had great views on the way back to CHC and pilots were saying that the B1900 was totally overpowered for its use and one of the best planes to fly, especially within the amazing scenery of NZ and the south island in general. Most pilots start out on these and progress to the jets, but they say that most enjoy their time on the B1900's the most as you are actually flying the plane rather than flicking it onto autopilot for 95% of the time.
I thanked the pilots and made my way to the Koru club at CHC for a quick drink before my next flight. My M-pass worked on entry, and the guy at the desk printed out my boarding pass...with a seat number of 18A which for an ATR was a little curious as I thought that row 17 was the last?!
It became clear that I had been allocated the jumpseat! Very cool.
I boarded and was shown to the cockpit past a bunch of pilots and flight crew repositioning seat in the cabin.
I was given the safety briefing by the pilots and had a chat to them about my quest and how to strap myself in. I had a great view sitting behind them in the middle, basically attached to the back of the cockpit door!
I took plenty of the pictures of our landing into welly, and a short video that I shall post in a seperate blog post up next..
All in all a fantastic day of flying and I ticked off Hokitika in style!
When boarding commenced I was handed a pair of headphones and assigned seat 1F. Upon boarding the pilots said hi and showed me how to plug in the headphones and I could listen to them and the air traffic control - very cool. we took off on time and I listened to the pilots going through the checklists and conversations with air traffic control.
We cruised at around 9000feet and had fantastic views of the southern alps.
 |
| Southern Alps |
The views on the way over were great and I had a good chat with the pilots on AirNZ flying and their enthuasiasm for the B1900D which had no autopilot and gives them a chance to "fly properly!"
We arrived in Hokitika and had a few minutes turnaround before heading back to CHC.
The airport is pretty tiny with a little cafe and waiting area. The Aero club is next door to the airport terminal and had a few little cessna's parked up.
Again we had great views on the way back to CHC and pilots were saying that the B1900 was totally overpowered for its use and one of the best planes to fly, especially within the amazing scenery of NZ and the south island in general. Most pilots start out on these and progress to the jets, but they say that most enjoy their time on the B1900's the most as you are actually flying the plane rather than flicking it onto autopilot for 95% of the time.
I thanked the pilots and made my way to the Koru club at CHC for a quick drink before my next flight. My M-pass worked on entry, and the guy at the desk printed out my boarding pass...with a seat number of 18A which for an ATR was a little curious as I thought that row 17 was the last?!
It became clear that I had been allocated the jumpseat! Very cool.
I boarded and was shown to the cockpit past a bunch of pilots and flight crew repositioning seat in the cabin.
I was given the safety briefing by the pilots and had a chat to them about my quest and how to strap myself in. I had a great view sitting behind them in the middle, basically attached to the back of the cockpit door!
I took plenty of the pictures of our landing into welly, and a short video that I shall post in a seperate blog post up next..
All in all a fantastic day of flying and I ticked off Hokitika in style!
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