Started my Summer 2019 Asia Trip very well, by getting my Air New Zealand Oneup up-grade accepted for my flight to Singapore from Auckland. To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t get it as I thought the flight would be full, but I was successful and managed to avoid economy class for this flight. Also, it was my first time on a Boeing 787, which I was excited for because I am a bit of plane nerd as well.

You totally notice the difference between Premium Economy and Economy. You have a lot more legroom, a bigger screen, a wider seat and I whole section allocated to Premium Economy. Also on the 787, you notice the windows are bigger and it just makes the inside roomier.

The service is a lot nicer, as you get two allocated flight attends to the section, which is roughly 40 seats and you get more section of different meal options. Plus, the food does seem slightly nicer. For Lunch, I had the Ahia, smoked fish, dill and miso pressing, egg and celery salad as the starter, some garlic bread and the Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks with Kumara and Red Onions cooked in Balsamic, Spinach and Carrots. Overall, was really nice. The fish starter was like a kedgeree and the beef cheeks were just so tender and I managed to get some extra bread afterwards and used it to soak up the sauce. Finally, for dessert, I got some Kapiti Ice-cream which was good.

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Halfway through the flight, some afternoon tea was bought to us. I got a lovely chicken club sandwich and a nice fruit tart. For Dinner, I had the Pea and Mint crush with Yogurt and Cumin Creme, roasted pistachios, again some garlic bread and the Master Stock Braised Pork Belly with Glutinous Mushroom Rice, wok tossed long Beans and Shanghai Bok Choy. I actually was not sure about the Pea and Mint crush. Initially, I thought it was a bit bland but it really grew on me and the Pork Belly was again really tender and really nice to eat as were the side vegetables. To finish, the Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Delice was a good way to end the meal.

Inflight Entertainment was really good with lots of options to watch and listen to. I was Introduced to “My Dad Wrote a Porno” which was an HBO TV special and originated from a Podcast. I found it really funny and have started to listen to the Podcast series. I highly recommend it.

Overall, great service from Air New Zealand and their staff. All though Premium Economy is usually twice as much as Economy it is at times worth it. I have flown several times on Premium Economy and have never really had a bad experience with it but it is generally because I manage to get an upgrade through Oneup. However, I feel if I decided to take the flight from Auckland to Chicago or New York when it starts later this year, I think I will fork out the extra dough to seat in Premium Economy as I do not think I can seat in a cramped seat for 15 plus hours on a plane.