Everett to LAX
Air New Zealand 6391
B777-300ER (77W)
Seat 7J – Business Premier
-Delivery flight
I know we had a post already on the plane itself, but we figured a trip report would help round it out (plus combining the two made it huge). If you don't want to read my rambling report feel free to scroll on down to the many pics at the bottom.
Personally the flight contained a number of firsts for me. To begin with, it was my first flight on a 777 of any sort. As a number of you know, I have tried and failed on at least three separate occasions this year to get onto a 777; finally I’ve managed to be successful, with only a handful of days remaining in the year. Second it was my first time flying in the premier seats on any airline, but particularly their flagship international service. Third, it was the first, and hopefully not last, time flying a delivery flight straight out of the factory in Everett, WA.
Needless to say this trip report isn’t quite like most of the others I’d ever done (come to think of it I can’t remember writing that many but whatever). The morning began at the Future of Flight museum up at Paine Field where the plane was parked. The entire museum gallery had been closed down for the delivery flight and the space was lavishly set up. Besides the usual holiday decorum a small stage area had been set up along with breakfast and an open bar. I discovered quite quickly that the orange juice was spiked – a nice little surprise. After some networking and talking with folks the delivery activities began.
The speeches were pretty straightforward. Larry Loftis, Vice President of the 777 program, spoke about Boeing’s relationship with Air New Zealand and the success of the cabin renovation program. Ed Sims, who until Christmas Eve was the Group General Manager of the International Airline arm of Air New Zealand, spoke as well about the benefits of the airplane, the airlines positive relationship with Boeing, and gave a thorough run down of the talking points on the renovation. After the conclusion of the speeches Mr. Loftis and Mr. Sims signed the (commemorative) certificates of delivery and presented ANZ with the keys to the plane (according to Mr. Sims you just needed to stick the keys into the ignition, press your foot down on the pedal, and turn the key a few times).
Following the speeches and transfer of the plane the hangar doors in the museum opened, revealing the plane to the public. A large gift tag was on the plane surrounded by Santa and a number of elves – a product of the delivery being two days before Christmas. Andrew Baker, ANZ’s Cultural & Customer Ambassador whom is steeped in the native Maori culture of New Zealand led the blessing of the aircraft. Mr. Loftis and Mr. Sims cut the ribbon to the cheers of the Air New Zealand staff, dignitaries, and others.
As we’ve already reported we had an opportunity to tour the aircraft (see our report here if you haven’t already). Many of ANZ’s own staff had not yet seen the interior, and it was really something to watch the pride swell up as they viewed their new flagship aircraft for the first time. The open plane lasted about an hour or so before it was cleared out for a TSA search. Some lunch and a bit of downtime later the boarding process began.
Luckily the TSA doesn’t operate at Paine Field, and what appeared to be Boeing security put everyone through a thorough (but not TSA thorough) hand search. The flight boarded fairly quickly (there were only 50 or so people on board for a plane that seats 320 something).
NYCAviation was seated in seat 7J in their Business Premier class…which is really pretty cool. I’d been in first class before, but never in a first class at a level like this before. As the cabin settled in before the flight the crew served up some excellent pre-flight hor d'oeuvres and cocktails. I don’t know what was in them but they were quite good and I had a few. I tried playing with the seat features a bit and was quite impressed with the new IFE, which encompassed an impressive range of features.
The departure off 16R was one of my favorite parts. My favorite sound at the airport is the GE90 spooling up, and it was an awesome sound to hear it get underway. We rotated somewhere around 5,000 feet (my guess based on pics) and climbed out quickly. Our flight path took us over Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams. I know I already spoke about the engines but I could not for the life of me get over how huge those things are. I’m used to flying on the 737 and narrow-body airbus whose engines are fairly small. To see the engine take up four or five windows when looking out the cabin – yeah I was impressed.
The cabin service continued to impress, with drinks and small food items being served up throughout the flight. The dessert plate was particularly good, consisting of what I believe was a cream puff, thick (and good) brownie, along with something else I couldn’t indentify. I wish I had two. Most of the passengers, myself included, were up and on their feet about the cabin most of the flight. ANZ crew members were about the plane showing off the new features of the various cabins. I tried out all the seats on the aircraft at some point. The Premium Economy was very comfortable, and I had to wonder at the price points of the seat (never found out). The economy SkyCouch was remarkably comfortable - I certainly could’ve napped on it - though I didn’t try cuddling up with anyone. Even still, it would be great to try and I hope that one day I’ll be able to try it in real life.
Toward the end of the flight I had an opportunity to speak one on one with Mr. Sims. As most of you know I’m generally more of a photographer, and while I can pull off some reasonable writing I’m not very well versed in interviewing skills. In any case it went pretty well despite my being pretty anxious about it, and about half way through it we started our descent into LAX.
The rest of the ride was short but enjoyable; it was also probably the longest continuous time I spent seated. We landed a bit hard on 24R then spent about 15 minutes (estimated) waiting for our gate to open up at Terminal 2. I made sure to stop off for a few flight deck shots and thank them for a smooth flight. A quick stop to the Hawaiian Airline lounge where they were having another short party ahead of the continuing service to AKL (OKM) then it was off to terminal 3 to head right back up to Seattle.
All in all – amazing experience, amazing day. I hope it isn’t the last.
Pre flight shot from the Future of Flight observation deck:
Future of Flight gallery set up:
Signing the Certificate of Delivery:
(Former) Air New Zealand Group General Manager (International Airline) Ed Sims showing off the keys to the plane;
Cutting the ribbon ceremony:
Hor d'oeuvre dish pre flight
Ready to close the door:
Mt Rainier:
Mt St Helens:
Cabin service under way!
More drinks:
Dessert prepped to head into the cabin:
Cuddle Class SkyCouch seat with new kids pack:
General Economy:
Premium Economy:
Ed Sims on board post-interview:
Right seat pilot David Wilson at the gate post-flight in LAX:
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Originally Posted by Mateo
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