Was on NZ102 to AKL with the HiFly A340-300, 9H-FOX. AirNZ had been sending email and sms messages re the changes. Notably that there would a HiFly crew, limited in-flight entertainment and meals, and if you wanted to change they would try to accommodate you. At YSSY they called for premium boarding at the gate and then very quickly called for a general boarding and guess what everyone queued and we all boarded and settled in quite smartly without any dramas. I seem to recall that HiFly do ADF charters? If so, there was plenty of legroom in economy so our burly soldiers would not have felt too cramped. A/c had a 3 class configuration. In Business there was some fake timber panelling around the windows which I thought was a leftover its Emirates days. It's a long time since I flown in an A340-300 and I felt comfortable, the fuselage and layout seems just right for my pysche. Taxying out the clunking of the brakes and other noises plus shaking of the centre overhead bin fittings all brought back memories. My favourite was the A340-500 where everything, including the engines, looked nicely proportioned. Could be that the seating was an old Emirates set up prior to the capsules on the 500 series?
Cabin service was slick, no fuss and no mamby pamby. Cabin crew nicely presented with the ladies in a bit of a retro uniform. Very nice indeed.
Wasn't long before I started hearing complaints; "the A in the A340 stands for antique, the plane should be in a museum, where's this, where's what I ordered, I want to go to the toilet during taxi but it is locked, there's nothing in the in-flight entertainment system." Give me a break, AirNZ are in a bit of a bind through no fault of theirs and were doing their best. All had been well advertised espec the entertainment system and pass advised to bring their own! Would I do the crossing again with HiFly? You bet I would. For a 2.5hr flight in economy it was quick, slick and very comfortable. One great feature was the lack of banal cabin announcements just after and before takeoff/landing i.e. there were none! In flight seatbelt announcements were a recorded message.
On climb out from AKL in the ATR I noted a couple of B787s coccooned near the hanger.
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