Today I fly back to my hometown in Borneo to celebrate Chinese New Year with family. It was a stinking hot day in Auckland but not as hot as other parts of the county. New Zealand was catching the tail-end of the Australian heatwave.
Having readied myself with a shower, it was better to set off for the air-conditioned airport rather than swelter at home. I arrived after 1530 at the airport, which meant a 20 minute wait before check-in opened.
I was air-side pretty promptly today to christen my new Priority Pass card at the lounge. For over twenty years I had a complimentary (free) Diners Club which gave me lounge access around the world. It was too good to be true and finally, Diners Club stopped operating in New Zealand.
I had recently applied for a Mastercard that came with the same privilege but it came with a hefty annual fee which was still much cheaper than getting Priority Pass directly. With the number of flight I have over the next nine months, I consider it money well-spent.
“Lady in Red” as the AirAsia X planes are sometimes referred to, was parked at the nearest gate at Auckland International terminal. It will be my last time flying out of here on them as they have withdrawn from the route. I had snapped up AKL-KUL for NZD207 including airport taxes and fees. I have another booking at the same price for May which have already been refunded. My pocket will sadly miss their presence in New Zealand.
The flight closed-up and pushed back about 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time of 1855 bound for Gold Coast and then Kuala Lumpur. The re-screening process in Gold Coast was efficient meaning that we left 20 minutes early.