I took my brother along , and we had a long overdue "bro" day , and it was great.
Went up on JQ286 (early
) , and despite 60-70k wind gusts the landing was no problem to the crew.Tried 3 times to get into the WW1 exhibit at Te Papa , but due to school holidays and 2 huge cruise ships it didn't work out (this time)
So we had a couple of beers at the Bangalore polo club on Courtney place, and then walked up to the national war memorial and spent a few hours there.
The WW1 exhibit there is 100% amazing ... in fact its 110%. My camera was playing up so most of the pics are useless , which is a shame.
The work that has gone into that exhibit is extraordinary , with that , and seeing the tomb of the unknown ... we left with a greater understanding of that conflict and 160,000 or so reasons not to change the flag ...very touching place.
We ended up back downtown for a Vietnamese lunch with Japanese beer , both amazed at the lack of traffic in central welly.
As the day went on the wind got stronger .... Im badly in need of a haircut , and ended up looking like a bad Donald Trump impersonator
and at times it was hard to even walk.I did notice that Wellington people dont seem to notice the wind ... and their hair stays in place! Hairspray sales must be thru the roof up there.
Anyway , all to soon it was time to head back to the airport via the great bus service (with extremely customer focused drivers)
We had checked in for both flights before we left to save time , which turned out to be waste of time.
The aircraft was late arriving in WLG (no problem there) .... made it thru security and arrived in the gate "lounge" ...and this it where it goes bad.
The place was packed ... at least 2 full flights stuck in area with seating for half a flight.
It smelt like a wet tent and the aircon didn't appear to be working , elderly people standing , young ones all over the floor.... and no explanation from the airline as to why the aircraft wasn't on the gate.
Finally got the "final call"as if we needed it after being trapped for 40 minutes , and off we went.... not sure what became of the 150 or so left behind.
I must say the crew on the way home were great , and we made up time.
Jetstar (management) and wellington airport , you really need to lift your game.... because , from my point of view you are cheap fare wise , but almost third world in others.
I mean whats wrong with announcing a delay and allowing your pax 40 minutes out of the sheep pen !
When we arrived in CHC i was first off (i had 1A) i noticed as i walked down the airstair , the sounds of sheep bleating and dog whistles ..... it was coming from the overhead speakers! How much did you (Jetstar) pay to have some plonker come up with that idea? ... as if i didn't need to be reminded .
Great cabin/ flight crew .. but i wont bother with them anymore (just my opinion)
