It was a foggy morning in Auckland as I went out to the airport driven by Kim. He was on call with the airline and he had tried to get called out to crew my flight, if someone had gone sick. But no such luck.
He had his uniform and suitcase in the car, just in the case he did get called out last minute for my flight, or another one.
At check-in I realised that the fog had caused delays and cancellations. But for now, my 1130 flight to Singapore was all OK. Airside at the departure area, it was a mess. International regulations require that arriving passengers must be kept separate from departing ones that have been security-screened. The airport was busily adding a second storey to become compliant.
But Auckland airport has perpetually (or in the last decade) been in a state of minor improvement, for not having invested in any great leaps of sorts.
Due to weather-related delays of incoming domestic connecting passengers, our flight left an hour late. Amongst those was possibly our pilot but I’m not absolutely sure about that.
On my flight to Singapore were friends Eleen and Paul. They weren’t seated very far away. We agreed that the meal standards have slipped. They lunch tray had been de-contented to now exclude appetiser or salad. There was only a hot meal and dessert on it.
I chose a vegetarian curry which turned out to be a mix of root vegetables cooked in curry, served with rice and followed by a dessert of cake! How much carbs can you get in one meal?
With three seats to myself, I lay down for a sleep mid-flight. I knew some of the crew on board as they’re Kim’s colleagues. I chatted with them on-and-off through the flight.
A second meal was served 4h prior to landing. I thought it was usually 2h prior, but I was ready. It was a choice of fish in a curry sauce served with rice and vegetables or chicken cordon bleu. The latter looked like a mix of chicken, potato wedges and mixed vegetables from the frozen department of the supermarket.