Wellington

Tag Archives for Wellington.

Sampling Singapore’s New Capital Express -from Canberra to the heart of Asia

CBR: Canberra, Australia to SIN, Singapore SQ292  Boeing 777-200 Scheduled Departure: 12:35  Arrival: 05:40 8 hour 5 min flight Total distance: 6,205 km/ 3,856 miles /3,351 nautical miles Canberra, the capital of Australia must be one of the few national capitals in the world to not have an network of international routes connecting it to the outside world.  This means that every flight overseas from Canberra necessitates a change in Sydney (awful place to transit) or Melbourne (better) Last September, Singapore airlines added service to Wellington and Singapore four times a week dubbing it the “Capital Express”. Qatar will start service to Doha…

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Qantas 737 Business between NZ and Australia

WLG: Wellington,  New Zealand to SYD: Sydney, Australia QF164: Scheduled Departure: 15:55 Arrival: 17:40  Distance: 5,689 km -1,387 miles Auckland to Sydney is a route rich with options. China Airlines (Skyteam), Air New  Zealand (Star),  Latam and Qantas (One World), Emirates and Virgin Australia all offer flights across the”The Ditch” (which is how Aussies and Kiwis refer to the Tasman Sea). I have flown every one of these airlines in the past few years.  However, between Wellington and Sydney, only two airlines fly and only Qantas offers Business Class seats. Booking: 8/10 Qantas booking engine is much improved. There are still a few small…

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My First 787: Latam Business Sydney-Auckland

Finding a way of booking a Business Class ticket for not much more than a regular coach ticket is one of the Holy Grails of Travel! LATAMs flight between Sydney and Auckland offers a very affordable Business Class fare. It often costs not a lot more than Qantas charges for an Economy fare on the same route and is half of the fare Emirates, Air New Zealand and Qantas charge for the sector. There are some downsides of the LATAM option, which will become clear but it is a nice way to cross the Tasman.…

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After 299 times, I still don’t like the B737!

There are many reasons to like the Boeing 737. It is reliable. It is prolific (over 8,500 built). It has been around for almost 50 years. It has a fantastic safety record. It is fuel efficient.  It is not an unattractive plane to look at. I have never liked it. This week I reached a milestone with my 299th flight on a 73. There is no other plane I have been on as many times. The 737 has taken me 340,000km (212,000) to 91 airports on five continents. I have disembarked as far south as Queenstown,…

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My 888th Flight

This week I fly my 888th flight. It is a standard run of the mill Melbourne to Wellington with Qantas (it will be my 255th flight with Qantas). I would have liked to have made the flight more special in some way. For example, it would have been nice to have made flight 888 first class on an ANA 787 but that is not going to happen! I need to get better organised for my 999 and 1000th flights!  Open to any ideas to make those flights amazing!   Related Posts 787 times in the air &…

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The Interislander

Have a quick stopover in Wellington, New Zealand en route to the USA. I will be taking the Interislander ferry between the North and South islands of New Zealand. (To get to the airport in Melbourne, I will be taking bus and train. So on Thursday, I will manage bus, train, plane and ferry all in one day!) Am always excited to take the Inter- Islander. It is a stunning ride. When the water is calm, the trip is magic. When it is rough, it is shall we say more “challenging”.

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This Week: 13-19 February, 2012

I am in Bangkok, Wellington, Palmerston North, Auckland and Melbourne this week. 8005 miles (12 808 km) to be flown with four airlines: Air New Zealand, British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia. Trivia: I will fly my 820th flight of my life!   I will also have my 40th Air New Zealand flight! Where are you this week? Hope its a great one!

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Travel Tips: Missed Approach

I flew this week into Wellington, (North Island) New Zealand with Qantas on a Boeing 737 called Bellbird. (plane’s rego is ZK-JTQ).Wellington airport is built on a stretch of low-lying land. It has only one runway which starts at Wellington Harbour  to the north and and finishes at Cook Strait to the south. (Cook Strait separates the two islands of New Zealand). This means your landing has to avoid water on both ends of the runway- after dodging some hills to get down. Worse, the airport is universally known for its rough weather (Check out this video of a Wellington attempted landing) because of…

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