Travel to New Zealand on business - any advice?

[gmaz]

It looks like I may need to travel to NZ (Auckland) on business in Sept.

Has anyone got advice on what airline to use (coach class probably), avoiding jet lag, places to stay, stuff to do at the weekends as I'll be there at least 3 weeks.

[anonymous-user]

gmaz said:

It looks like I may need to travel to NZ (Auckland) on business in Sept.

Has anyone got advice on what airline to use (coach class probably), avoiding jet lag, places to stay, stuff to do at the weekends as I'll be there at least 3 weeks.

I'd go west via LA or SFO probably on Air NZ.

A business trip to NZ travelling down the back isn't my idea of a business trip though.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Only done it the once (for pleasure), Emirates via Dubai, quite bearable even for me at 6ft3 in cattle class. Regarding the jet lag, it will be noticeable but fades in time, try to arrive on a Friday so you've got the weekend to recover before work.

Take your pick with regard to places to stay, loads of hotels, B&Bs etc. Make sure you have a car for the weekends. Epic place, much to see and do everywhere.

[captain_cynic]

gmaz said:

It looks like I may need to travel to NZ (Auckland) on business in Sept.

Has anyone got advice on what airline to use (coach class probably), avoiding jet lag, places to stay, stuff to do at the weekends as I'll be there at least 3 weeks.

Aside from don't...

Singapore Airlines is best if they land where you want to go (pretty sure they fly to Auckland). Economy in Singapore is what some airlines call premium.

Jet lag, it's better going west than east so I'd be more concerned about your return to the UK. However the only cure is to stay up to a reasonable bed time when you arrive and sleep at night. Your circadian rhythm will adjust.

Cant help you with the specifics of the land of the wrong white crowd, I've always tried to avoid it (there were enough Kiwi's in Perth to scare anyone off the place).

[louiebaby]

It might be worth looking at the "Turn Left For Less" blog to see if you can find any deals on premium economy / business class / first class.

We went about 10 years ago, and it was only £200 ish to get a 6 stop round the world ticket, so we made a month long holiday of it. That helped with Jetlag.

Depending where you live, you might not need to go out of Heathrow, Emirates run daily Dubai services from Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle as well.

[Johnniem]

I went for a week (ill mother) and travelled business class with Emirates. Cheaper by far than anyone else although we had three stops and had to get off each time. Do it business class if you can as it is a bloody long haul, whichever way you look at it. I have also done it cattle class many times with both Malaysia Airlines and Singapore (who route share with Air NZ). Singapore were the worst and Air NZ the best but Emirates knocks them all into a cocked hat. Go Emirates if the route is acceptable.

You'll love NZ, its a great place if you like the great outdoors, food and wine.

JM

[hairyben]

Been to Australia several times via the day-in-cattle flight, found melatonin really good for combating jet lag the last trip. Only time I've really slept on a plane.

[schmalex]

Unfortunately, I fly long haul a lot (I’m up to about 40 sectors over 8 hours since January). I have to go to NZ fairly frequently and always use Emirates for anything to the East, albeit in biz (occasionally in first after an upgrade).

A trip there down the back would not be fun at all. I would be doing everything I could to go at least PE.

If you go Emirates, you could do a quick 7.5h hop to Dubai and then they have just started a new direct route from Dubai to Auckland - 17.5 hours. It takes about 4 - 5 hours off the typical 2 stop run via Melbourne or Sydney.

Emirates don’t do a Premium Economy currently, so you’re in economy or biz (or first if you can stomach the ££££!)

BA Premium Economy is OK, but the seat design makes my coccyx really hurt! BA AVOD is about as bad as you can get

Emirates AVOD is excellent. Join Skywards before you fly to get free Wi-fi for the duration (it always gets really flaky for the 2 - 3 hours you are flying over India and Pakistan)

Qantas are pretty crap generally and their PE always feels like you are slipping off the front of the seat (although, their A380s are very quiet). Their AVOD is shocking.

Singapore Air are pretty good. Changi is a nice airport to transit through. THEY HAVE GOOD AVOD

Qatar might be worth looking at. They do some good prices for biz seats and if you get a Q Suite equipped flight, it’s fantastic. Doha is a nice, quiet airport too. their AVOD is pretty good

When you’re in Auckland, it’s always worth heading to Viaduct Basin for some beers by the waterfront.

To combat jet lag, do the following:

1: Change your watch to destination time the moment you board the aircraft and start living at that time
2: don’t drink alcohol
3: minimise your good intake on the plane
4: have a shower at every stop point
5: when you arrive, no power naps - push through to 10pm

Edited by schmalex on Wednesday 18th July 15:56

Edited by schmalex on Wednesday 18th July 16:03

Edited by schmalex on Wednesday 18th July 16:28

[gmaz]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try to avoid cattle class but it depend on what the customer is prepared to pay.

I've done 14 hours (Jo'burg) on Emirates coach before and it was tolerable, wifi, movie choice, 3 seats free next to me... I had more space than business class.

[louiebaby]

gmaz said:

I'll try to avoid cattle class but it depend on what the customer is prepared to pay.

It all depends on the cost of "you" as a service, and how strong your bargaining position is, but they can't ask you to spend 24 ish hours on a plane, and be functional at the end of it. Especially not in Economy. That applies to the return leg too.

It may well be that the cost of paying for you for the extra day each way of recovery time is more than the cost increase of Economy to Business.

They need to be paying for your time from the point of leaving the UK to the point of being back in the UK and in a similar state to how you left. Business will reduce the time they will be paying you for, and your reduced food and accommodation. But the flight will cost more.

Make them a business case for which you'd prefer.

[Big E 118]

schmalex said:

Qantas are pretty crap generally and their PE always feels like you are slipping off the front of the seat (although, their A380s are very quiet). Their AVOD is shocking.

The poster quoted above clearly travels more than me but I'll add that I've been to NZ and back both on Qantas and Emirates (both business class, both A380) and I actually preferred Qantas. Qantas business was a lot cheaper than Emirates (which may make if feasible for you) and certainly not as "bling" as Emarites but the space for each seat and bed were much better. I'm 6'3 and on the Qantas flight could lie full length and the bed was wider. I actually slept the whole Melbourne to Dubai leg which really helped with jet lag!

My tip for jet lag is take Melatonin, certainly helps getting into a new sleep cycle.

I love Auckland (my home city) but my wife thinks it's a dive! A good experience is to go out on the ex Americas Cup yachts (based in Viaduct Harbour) for a couple of hours. You can take a cruise or actually help the crew if you want to get involved.

[captain_cynic]

schmalex said:

Qantas are pretty crap generally and their PE always feels like you are slipping off the front of the seat (although, their A380s are very quiet). Their AVOD is shocking.

Singapore Air are pretty good. Changi is a nice airport to transit through. THEY HAVE GOOD AVOD

I have to agree with this.

Singapore is my favourite because they've got larger seats in economy than other airlines, being a Powerfully Built type, getting a tiny bit of extra arse and leg room is vitally important (seriously, my shoulders are 20" apart, I hate trying to squeeze into 17" QANTAS seats and fighting with the person next to me for shoulder room).

Singapore's AVOD is excellent, but I've found most new planes are using Android based tablets instead of the old resistive LCD screens so most are pretty good and the biggest difference is the selection.

[audidoody]

While going West is better for your body clock it is a ball ache in other ways, Not least because you will stop over in LA where there is no concept of transit passengers. Even if you are only there for a 90-minute change of planes the US regards you as an alien and you have to clear immigration and customers.

[schmalex]

I would never consider flying West to NZ / Aus.

1: You get to choose between the worst possible carriers (United / American / Continental / BA)

2: You cross the international date line, which cocks you right up

3: As has been said, US airports are awful for transitting

[sjg]

Yes, LAX route is only worthwhile if you're going to properly stop over, if in transit you just spend all your time in endless queues first to clear immigration then to go back through security checks again. You used to get extra baggage allowance that way, but not any more. Only went that way last time as we wanted the Skycouch seats with kids and they're only on NZ1/2.

Via Singapore is much more pleasant, enough time to stop by the airport hotel/lounge where you can cheaply have a shower, mooch around the shops (or butterfly garden) and grab something to eat before getting back on a plane. Much more refreshing a break.

Air NZ and Singapore code share depending on route/times but both are a decent experience in economy - roomy enough for most, decent entertainment, good food and drink service. They're also the quickest way there overall. Air NZ used to have a great Premium Economy setup on their 777s (the spaceseats, for couples in the middle or individuals down the sides) which I've done once, although last I saw they were taking those out and replacing with a traditional PE sort of setup as they can fit more seats in.

Have done LHR-AKL several times, never find jetlag too bad on the way out (it just turns me temporarily into a morning person) but it's worse on the way home.

Not tried the Emirates option yet, but likely to on next trip - the DXB-AKL leg is really long though!

[Drew106]

I was in NZ earlier this year. First time. Loved it! Really amazing place.

We went with Emirates via Dubai & Sydney. A good thing about Emirates is they fly from regional airports. So can go from Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow et al.

No way around it, the flight is long! I was happy enough with Emirates economy though, have flown with them a good few times now. Good food, decent selection of films and all the wine you can drink

We did a whistle stop tour over two weeks, flying into Christchurch and out of Auckland. So was only in Auckland one night at the end. Seemed nice enough, but the best thing I liked about NZ is the lack of people! 1/3 of the population is in Auckland and 3/4 in the North Island. So the South Island was great

Favourite place might have been Queenstown. Stunningly beautiful. Rent a car and enjoy the roads. There are some really great, deserted roads that are an absolute blast throughout both islands. Watch out for crazy Chinese tourists and the Police. Quite a lot of police about and low speed limits! 60mph (100kph) national.

If you're just in the North Island, one place I'd highly recommend visiting is Rotorua (Rotovegas). Would have loved more time there. Really fun place. You'll get over the sulfur smell eventually. Wellington was also very nice.

[WyrleyD]

There are some good deals in business class on QATAR Airways from Oslo at the minute. I know, I know it's Oslo but you can get a cheap UK-Oslo return. Again, it's a non-stop from Doha to Auckland and because it's such a long leg the aircraft is never full to capacity as extra fuel is carried instead of max passengers.

[jamoor]

See if you can go on
Korean
JAL
ANA
Asiana,
Singapore
Cathay

All the rest of the airlines are second to those. Pesonally I would pick JAL or korean.

[heronio]

People love to knock Auckland, but there's actually loads of things to see/do at the Weekend:

Muriwai Gannet Colony
Bethells Beach
Whatipu Beach
Waitakere Ranges - Arataki Centre has some walks originating from there
Wine tour on Waiheke Island
Whale & Dolphin watching - I saw Orca up close in June 2017!
Mount Eden at sunset
Botanical Gardens
Winter Gardens at Auckland Domain
See Kiwis at Auckland Zoo
Silo Park (usually some kind of event going on Fri/Sat)
One Tree Hill
Take the ferry over to Devonport
Day trip to Tiritiri Matangi
Hike up Rangitoto Island
Waiwera Hot Pools

Further afield of course you could hire a car and do a weekend in Rotorua, Coromandel, Paihia..

[Johnniem]

You have to really love the great outdoors when visiting NZ. If it's culture and nightlife you want then you may only have Auckland, which will be short on cultural history and ancient buildings (for obvious reasons). If you love the outdoor life then NZ will never disappoint but (in my opinion) that's about it!