A new route to Newcastle

Good seats, food and entertainment meant the journey to New South Wales passed in a flash, writes Lorna Thornber.

The first direct flight between Auckland and Newcastle, New South Wales, in 16 years makes Australia’s second oldest city and the nearby Hunter Valley wine region and white sands of Port Stephens tantalisingly quick and easy to get to.

The airline:

Auckland to Newcastle on Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737-800.

Time in the air:

Three hours 35 minutes. A bushfire near Newcastle Airport delayed our departure on the inaugural flight by two hours, meaning we arrived about 9pm rather than at 6.45pm. The wall of fire on the dark horizon visible through the windows on descent was disconcerting – and spectacular – but everything turned out OK and we had no issues on the way back.

The loyalty plan:

Velocity.

Up the back or at the pointy end:

I’d expected to be up the back, but was upgraded. With just eight seats, the business class section is small, but that ensures attentive service.

The seat stuff:

The luxury leather seats in a 2-2 configuration are comfy and there’s ample legroom but the seats don’t lie flat, as they generally do in business class on long-haul flights. The seat pitch of 95 centimetres is fairly standard for short-haul flights however and, at 5ft 2in (1.6 metres) I could stretch my legs out straight and still had room to stash my oversized handbag in front.

Comfort factor:

For someone who usually flies economy, it was incredible. The guy in the window seat next to me, a regular business class flier, was impressed too and slept so soundly even the in-flight announcements didn’t wake him. While this is a short flight, the wider seats and extra legroom made it feel like a VIP experience at the movies.

That’s entertainment:

The on-board wi-fi enables all passengers to access what the airline describes as hundreds of hours of entertainment on their own devices. Business class passengers are provided with Samsung tablets loaded with movies, TV shows, podcasts and music. It was fairly light on new releases. I opted for a drama about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley. Caught up in Shelley’s romance with handsome poet-philanderer Percy Shelley, the flight passed in a flash. Other new releases included Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and TV series included The Handmaid’s Tale and Westworld.

The service:

In a word: excellent. I’d only been seated for five minutes when the flight attendant introduced himself and took our welcome drink and dinner orders. Friendly and helpful but not intrusive, he certainly suggested that nothing was too much trouble.

Feeding time:

We were offered a choice of bubbly, orange juice or sparkling water and snacks before take off, and dinner was served shortly after we’d reached cruising altitude. The menu was designed by Aussie celebrity chef Luke Mangan so I had high expectations. The food was good, if not inspired. We had a choice between chicken with braised tomatoes and broccolini or a farro salad and all eight of us opted for the former. The chicken was a bit dry but perhaps that’s inevitable for plane food, the tomatoes were sweetly tasty and the broccolini on the softer side of al dente. There was a generous hunk of blue cheese for dessert, with crackers, and a pre-packed Pandoro caramel slice. We were offered snacks afterwards and told to sing out if we wanted anything more.

The verdict:

The new route makes travelling to this diverse part of NSW cheaper, easier and viable for a long weekend. On such a short flight, travelling in the cheap seats (economy fares start from $298.05 one way) is no real sufferance. But if you can afford to stump up an extra $500 or so each way to travel in business (fares start from $836.05), go for it. The comfy seats, stellar service and more-thanpalatable food get your trip off to a flying start.

Frequency:

The trial summer service began on November 22 and runs until February 17, but will continue if it proves commercially viable. Flights depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 5.10pm and arrive at 6.45pm local time. Return flights leave Newcastle at 7.30pm local time and arrive in Auckland at 12.25am.