Rosalie Willis flies Sydney to Port Moresby on Air Niugini’s Bird of Paradise service

The plane: Boeing B737-700. Seating: The plane can carry 122 passengers, 106 in Economy and 16 in Business Class, although no one was in the Business Class section during our flight. Seats were tight but manageable. Class: Economy

Price: Around NZ$3000 for a return ticket. Flight time: No delays in take-off, a solid four-hour flight.

My seat: I had a window seat, 15A, which was great as it was a beautiful day to be travelling over the islands. Fellow passengers: An even mix of locals travelling home and foreigners, many of whom had the same plan as me — to visit one of Papua New Guinea’s biggest tourism attractions, the Mount Hagen Cultural Show. How full: Three quarters full.

Entertainment: I was surprised that there were screens with a good number of in-flight movies and TV shows to choose from. However, the headphone jack was faulty meaning I could only get sound through one ear, so I gave it a miss. Coincidently, on my return flight the headphone jack with my seat was also not working, so no movies for me.

The service: Before I had even left, being greeted by the large smiles of the Papua New Guinean flight attendants made me feel like I had already stepped into their country. The service was great, always paired with a smile — and not a fake plastic one either.

Food and drink: Standard aeroplane food. It was breakfast time so it was scrambled eggs and potato roasties for me. It was lukewarm and a little salty but still tasty. There was also fresh fruit, which looked like it would be the best part of the meal for most people. However, I don’t really like fruit so that was left untouched. I was also given a whole bottle of water after I asked for my drink bottle to be filled up. A great score as in New Guinea tap water is a no-go.

The toilets: Very normal, nothing different here. Luggage: For Economy 30kg checked and 7kg cabin luggage.

The airport experience: The benefit of taking a small international flight is that the luggage came off the plane quickly. I only had to wait a couple of minutes at Jacksons International Airport to get my bag , which was a treat.

The bottom line: When you get a genuine smile from a flight attendant you know you’re in for good service. Would definitely fly with Air Niugini again.