Travel opinion: On being a real traveller (NZ Herald)
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While in Hong Kong airport, Tim McCready compares the facilities and service in three lounges open to Air New Zealand passengers.
When I checked in for my Air New Zealand Business Premier flight from Hong Kong to Auckland, I was told I had access to three lounges: United Airlines, Thai Airways, and Cathay Pacific.
Challenge accepted.
United Airlines Club lounge
My first visit was to the United Airlines lounge. I initially thought the space was quite small but soon realised walls separate the lounge into different areas. This layout provides a good sense of privacy for relaxing before a flight, and a very quiet feel to the lounge.
On one side of the lounge, huge windows provide great views of the tarmac and the planes as they come and go. On the other side, the mezzanine lounge overlooks the departure hall and gates — as the world’s eighth-busiest airport by passenger traffic, there is no shortage of activity to keep an eye on, to pass the time before a flight.
There were plenty of seats of all varieties scattered around, and although it was a busy time at the airport, I didn’t struggle to find a space. The lounge also had a small shower room and a business centre.
The selection of food was underwhelming, but adequate for a short stay. The Thai green curry I tried was delicious; the cauliflower soup left a lot to be desired.
Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge
The Thai Airways lounge is just around the corner from United’s. It also benefits from its position: great views out towards the planes, and the ability to people-watch below in the departure hall. Compared to United, this lounge felt much less private — there is a roped-off area for First-Class travellers but the rest of the lounge is wide open. The eclectic chair colours — bright green, orange, blue and yellow — were a jarring eyesore but the chairs were very comfortable.
Though the food selection was wider than that provided by United, it was still fairly standard. There was a reasonable selection of drinks to help yourself to. The bathroom had a single shower (which was occupied while I was visiting). A large business centre was available for use as well as a couple of massage chairs. I was tempted to give them a try but was also well aware of my need to fit another lounge in …
Cathay Pacific: The Bridge
Cathay Pacific is a member of the Oneworld alliance, rather than Air New Zealand’s Star Alliance, however Air New Zealand’s alliance with Cathay allows Airpoints Elite and Gold, and Business Class passengers access to its lounges on certain flights. Cathay has several lounges in Hong Kong airport (The Deck, The Wing, The Pier and The Bridge). I visited The Bridge, located closest to where Air New Zealand flights typically depart from.
The Bridge is just a few minutes’ walk from the United and Thai lounges, but as I descended the escalators into the lounge check-in area, I knew immediately I had saved the best for last. The lounge is enormous and is divided into a North and South Wing.
Each contains multiple zones, which provide a great sense of privacy and a feeling like you’re at home in one of the world’s top hotel lobbies.
Floor-to-ceiling windows span the length of the lounge, providing unobstructed views out to the tarmac. The natural colours inside the lounge — wooden floors with oak and brass accents — give a warm feeling that is often missing in airports, while the custom-made lounge chairs, bookshelves, art and sculptures throughout give the lounge a very sophisticated feel.
The food was spectacular. The North Wing is home to The Bakery, which offers freshly baked bread and pizzas, a generous buffet of Western and Asian dishes and a fresh salad bar. The Long Bar overlooks the tarmac and features an extensive wine and tapas list.
Bartenders are on hand to mix up a drink from the cocktail list — the espresso martini went down a treat.
The South Wing’s Coffee Loft has muffins, biscuits and pastries, as well as barista-made coffee. This wing also contains The Bistro — a second dining area with buffet — along with a fully equipped business centre and shower facilities.
There are nine shower rooms available, and despite the lounge being busy I didn’t need to wait to use one. They come equipped with everything you need to freshen up before a long-haul flight and are cleaned and restocked after each use.
The verdict:
This one’s easy. Thai Airways and United Airlines provide an adequate — albeit fairly standard — airport lounge, but if you have access to Cathay Pacific’s lounge, take advantage of it. It is truly world-class and showcases the very best of what an airport lounge can provide. Just make sure you leave enough time to explore everything that is on offer.
Tim McCready travels from Auckland to Brisbane on Air New Zealand 739.
The plane: One of Air New Zealand’s Airbus A320-232s. My plane was 15 years old — you could tell from the fitout that it wasn’t one of the airline’s newest, but it was very tidy. The flight was full, aside from a couple of empty middle seats.
The airport experience: Auckland Airport is in the midst of a major redevelopment — it feels as though the airport experience changes every few weeks. Although the departure terminal was a construction zone, you could see behind the plastic drop sheets that the transformation will see it become a real feature for the airport.
There was no queue whatsoever for the Air New Zealand bag drop, and customs and security were seamless. I was let loose in duty-free within minutes.
My seat: Having a window seat over the wing meant I had a very smooth flight across the Tasman, despite warnings from the flight deck that we could be in for a rough ride. The seat was comfortable, and the tray tables seemed larger than others I’ve experienced on the same route or on most long-haul economy flights. I had a fair amount of work to get done, so the space was appreciated.
The flight: We departed about 30 minutes late, after waiting for the late arrival of a few passengers from a connecting flight — but we landed just ahead of the scheduled time. I have been on the other side of that situation before, which makes it hard to hold it against the airline when you eventually see a handful of very relieved, sweaty people clambering down the aisle. With no headwind, our total time in the air was just under three hours.
Food and drink: I travelled with The Works option, and was given the choice of honey soy chicken with rice or a beef casserole with roast potatoes. I chose the beef — which according to a colleague on the flight (who described the chicken as “very oily”), was a wise decision. The meal was substantial, especially for a 4pm departure where it felt too late for lunch but too early for dinner. The meal came with Kāpiti ice cream. Although I love their icecream , the flavour was their latest summer creation: Chamomile and Salted Kāmahi Honey. I’m not a fan of chamomile, nor a strong honey flavour, and I found it very sweet. The most awkward thing on flights where you have an optional meal upgrade, is when the person sitting next to you hasn’t upgraded. My neighbour in the middle seat found herself in the unfortunate position of being wedged between people eating meals, and had to have the crew explain politely why this wasn’t an option for her.
The entertainment: Although there were a reasonable number of older films on board, the recent releases felt light. I got halfway through Tag (the premise wore thin after 20 minutes), and Leave No Trace (lost my attention), before settling on One Hour Photo – a Robin Williams classic I hadn’t seen since digital cameras became ubiquitous (the movie has dated incredibly quickly).
The bottom line: Air New Zealand does these transtasman flights well.
Tim McCready flies from Hong Kong to Munich aboard Lufthansa flight 731.
The plane: One of Lufthansa’s 14 superjumbo Airbus A380-800s. My plane was eight years old, with eight First Class suites, 78 lie-flat Business Class seats, 52 Premium Economy seats and 371 Economy seats. I was transiting on both sides, travelling Auckland-Hong Kong-Munich-Dublin. The flight was packed — there were several cheeky passengers attempting to bag an upgrade at the counter, but they were repeatedly told that all classes were full.
The airport experience: Transiting on either side was a dream. Hong Kong and Munich Airports are big and spread out but trains between terminals, and clear signage means you can’t really go wrong. Though there isn’t much to do in Munich Airport for three hours when you arrive at 5am, the Wi-Fi is free and it gave me the opportunity to get this review finished!
My seat: I flew Premium Economy with a window seat. The size and shape of the A380 means the window seats get a generous amount of extra space down the side, which was appreciated. I stored most of the airline’s (and my own) clutter down there throughout the flight — blankets, pillows, shoes. The seats were comfortable, though they were fairly basic in terms of adjustability compared to other Premium Economy options. The separate cabin added some privacy and meant there were never any queues for the cabin’s two toilets — which were kept extremely clean throughout.
Entertainment: While I found Lufthansa’s entertainment system to be less user-friendly than other set-ups, there was plenty to choose from: the usual mix of new release and classic movies, and TV shows, as well as live satellite TV news (which I appreciated given the US air strikes on Syria that took place while I was flying). I used my own headphones as the ones offered in Premium Economy didn’t seem to be any kind of upgrade over most basic Economy offerings.
The flight: As this was the second of two 12ish-hour flights, I spent most of this one asleep. There was a fairly hefty amount of turbulence at the start of the flight, but things settled down and the remaining ride was very smooth. We departed 25 minutes late but landed on time. Total time with wheels off the ground was 11h 32m.
Food and drink: I was disappointed not to see bratwurst and sauerkraut on the menu as I was hopeful for some hearty German fare on board. Instead, I chose the penne pasta with pork goulash for dinner (my third dinner in a row). I should have followed my own advice and steered clear of airline pasta — it didn’t stand up well to reheating. The scrambled eggs with mornay sauce and ratatouille for breakfast was surprisingly good. The drinks service was frequent, and the crew were notably friendlier than my earlier Cathay Pacific flight. The Toblerone was a nice touch.
The bottom line: This wasn’t my favourite Premium Economy experience. It felt as though Lufthansa hasn’t put the same level of innovation into the seat design, food offerings and technology as other airlines have. As for whether I’d fly again — I don’t have too much choice — I’m doing the return journey in a few weeks. But I won’t choose the pasta next time.
The Memorandum of Understanding of Economic Alliance between sister city triplets Auckland, Guangzhou and Los Angeles was signed in 2014 – and if a week is a long time in politics, three years certainly is.
Since then, New Zealand has had three prime ministers. Former Auckland mayor Len Brown “The Singing Mayor” hung up his chains – replaced by Phil Goff, known less for his singing abilities and instead for his prowess in forging New Zealand’s free trade agreement with China.
Guangzhou also changed its mayor in 2016, and although Democratic Party superdelegate Eric Garcetti is still mayor of LA, President Obama was replaced by the entirely different Trump Presidency.
Over that time, three summits were held to recognise the alliance. And just as with geopolitics, the alliance has come a long way.
The first summit, hosted by LA in 2015, was attended by a humble delegation of about 43 Auckland businesses.
In 2016, Auckland outdid the council’s own expectations with over 700 delegates and more than 330 formal business matching meetings.
Guangzhou’s turn to host took place last month, and saw 70 Auckland businesses take 97 delegates, with around 800 others from LA and Guangzhou.
“Auckland companies need to internationalise,” says Pam Ford, General Manager – Business, Innovation and Skills (Acting) at Ateed.
“They have to go global from day one – and it’s hard. “That’s why we ran workshops for attendees ahead of this latest summit. They helped to build the capability of businesses to maximise their time offshore, and gave them the confidence to take part.”
Alongside business matching, networking events and showcase functions, panel discussions and keynote presenters shared insights and ideas from speakers across the alliance.
The first summit saw panellists discuss the cartoonish view of cities that people – including Americans – have about the US, and stressed that the City of Angels should be seen as more than just a gateway to the US, and certainly more than just Hollywood.
Hollywood makes up only a fraction of Los Angeles’ economy. As well as tourism, it is the US’ largest manufacturing centre, a hub for aerospace, logistics, clean technology and innovation, and home to the largest port in the Western hemisphere.
It is the country’s fastest growing tech start-up region – many arguing it has benefits over San Francisco or Silicon Valley for a tech launchpad.
Despite this, there is no denying LA remains the creative capital of the US. One in seven people are employed in a creative field, and it is the top American metro area for art, design and media employment, providing more than US$140b (NZ$203b) of annual economic impact to the city.
“One of the things the LA summit did was open people’s minds that it is more than just film,” says Ford.
“LA is the place for many of Auckland’s companies that create content. Content now fits across so many more mediums – from gaming and television to social media and particularly the influencer economy.”
“But LA is also about cleantech, food and beverage, design and manufacturing. “Because of this three-year relationship, we’ve developed solid partnerships with the organisations for our companies to access – whether that is through the World Trade Center Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Business Council – that we would not otherwise have had.”
One panellist – a resident of LA – described how the city unfolds as you spend more time there. “New York is a river, but Los Angeles is a lake. If you step outside in New York you will naturally go somewhere, the city itself will take you and it is simple to navigate.
“In Los Angeles, to get anywhere you have to actively swim there – or you risk never getting anywhere at all. But that’s what makes it so exciting.”
The Auckland summit saw global heavyweights take to the stage at the Viaduct Events Centre, speaking about the importance of partnerships and collaboration, and the opportunities that arise when you bring people together and ‘cross-pollinate’ ideas.
Sunny Bates, a serial entrepreneur and a founding board member of Kickstarter who has served as an adviser to companies including GE, TED and P&G, insisted the economic driver of the future won’t come from factories, technology, or software – it will be down to the networks of people.
“Networks are the structural basis for globalisation and for modernisation,” says Bates.
“Networks know no boundaries, and cultural networks are extremely powerful.”
Former Nike innovation expert Erez Morag agreed that networks were critical, but said it wasn’t those networks on their own that lead to innovation, but instead the cross-pollination of ideas through those networks.
“Instead of chasing the competition, chase the insights, listen to everyone, and play bigger than your size,” he says.
Morag used jogging as an example of cross pollination. In 1961, Kiwi runner and athletics coach Arthur Lydiard organised the world’s first jogging club in Auckland, promoting the cardiovascular health benefits of easy distance running.
Lydiard introduced Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman to the concept of jogging on a chance visit to New Zealand.
“[Jogging was] invented in New Zealand and commercialised in the United States,” says Morag – all through the cross-pollination of ideas.
Throughout the Auckland Summit, then-Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell reinforced the importance of trusted partnerships to the Maori economy. “Maori want to hear your heart, not just slick words.
“If there is no connection to your heart, then there can be no deal – because it will be doomed from the start” – a message that resonated strongly with Chinese delegates, who rely on guanxi – long-term, strong business relationships, based on trust and mutual reciprocity.
Auckland-based Kenneth Leong, co-founder and director at Healthy Breath – an anti-pollution mask using natural New Zealand wool filter media for international markets – spoke about leveraging the Chinese diaspora.
“We sometimes forget Auckland is home to a large, well-connected Chinese business community,” he says.
The summit and surrounding events enabled new connections between the business delegates, and deepened existing relationships.
“Cross-cultural partnerships enrich all parties, by bringing people with great ideas together with people who have connections, capital and channels to market,” says Leong.
“There is a need to accelerate integration between the migrant Chinese and mainstream business communities in Auckland. Everyone is keen to do business together, we just need to create more opportunities for interaction and relationship building.”
New Zealand’s connection to Guangzhou goes back a long way – many of the first Chinese immigrants to New Zealand came from the Pearl River Delta region, including Guangzhou.
Now, Guangzhou is China’s third largest city, contains seemingly endless skyscrapers, and is considered a manufacturing and commercial hub.
It has been consistently ranked by Forbes magazine as the best commercial city in mainland China for ease of doing business, talent, location, and international connectivity, and in many cases, could be a more accessible market for New Zealand businesses than the more recognised larger markets of Shanghai and Beijing.