Back to New Zealand

Departing for Christchurch

We boarded our replacement A350-900 around 0030, an hour later than its original departure time.  Being Singapore, the ground staff started giving the boarding announcement inviting first the Business Class passengers, then high-status frequent flyers etc.  Strictly per the manual.

Then the senior staff member turned up and told all 27 passengers (including children and infants) to just get on the plane.  Yes, common sense.

We departed about 90 mins late.  With so few passengers on board, everyone in Economy class had the opportunity of lying down across three seats.  I did see one person in Premium Economy who stuck to his seat, sitting upright, to enjoy the privilege of having paid more!  Incidentally, talking to the crew, this flight was also light on cargo.  Som I guess the Singapore government must be bank-rolling the airline to keep it and the airport running, taking a long-term view.

After supper, I slept lightly for over 5h before sitting up for less than an hour.  Only blankets were supplied, on every seat even though the plane was largely empty.  I did find a pillow given to me upon waking up from my sleep though.

Soon it was time for pre-landing lunch.  With one crew member for two adult passengers, the crew were super attentive and were very pro-active in offering things.  In fact, I looked towards the back of the cabin after the meal and a crew member soon came over and asked if they could get me something.  It was actually a little over-the-top but it’s better than rude staff.

I did notice that the crew on both Singapore Airlines flights were still wearing eye-protection but these have been come optional on Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia.  Singapore seems to be keeping a high guard over Covid-19.  Hand dryers are still disconnected at Changi Airport while they have been reinstated in Malaysia.

Arrival and Managed Isolation

We touched down at Christchurch at 1530, only an hour late.  Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) is currently for 10 x 24h periods (up from 7 x 24h a week ago, due to the Omicron variant), meaning that I can exit at 1530 on that 10 January.  I was planning to drive down to Lake Benmore upon my exit, so it will be a late start getting there a little before sunset.

Disembarkation was quick and we went through several stations in the arrival process:

1. At the first one, we sanitized our hands, swapped our masks for a new one and re-sanitised our hands.
2. At the second, we presented our vaccination certificates and were asked a few health-related questions.  As at check-in, this seems to be a standard check even though it is technically not required for certain passengers such as citizens.
3. At the third, we were processed by immigration.
4. At the fourth, it was the normal biosecurity x-ray screening and the sniffer dog.
5. Finally, we sanitised our hands once more before exiting on to the tarmac where a bus was waiting.  We were asked to leave our bags by the door and they would be loaded on for us.

The bus filled slowly and around 1630 we drove away on to the airport apron to a gate which exited into the public road.  It was only a couple minutes to the Sudima Christchurch Airport Hotel.

Here our bags were offloaded and waiting for us.  We disembarked bubble-by-bubble, starting with the family with young children.  As soon as each bubble was inside the hotel foyer, the next bubble or person would be allowed out.

As I could handle my luggage, I took them.  Whereas other people had theirs tagged for delivery to their room.

Once inside, it was a quick two-station process before I was given keycards to Room 2103 on the ground floor.  I then given a snack-pack along with a rubbish bag as nothing can exit my room until my test result comes back.  Rubbish must remain within the room in the big bag until then.  I cannot step out of my room and smokers have to go without their puffs completely.  This is so much stricter than last year.

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Once settled in, I found myself hungry.  I had my ciabatta sandwich, leaving part of the bread, knowing that dinner would be along shortly.  The rib dinner was delicious.

I was surprisingly tired and retired around 2130, which was before dinner time back in Malaysia.  I was happy to be back in New Zealand and look forward to summer.  The weather today in Christchurch was cool and drizzly, with the forecast for more of the same over the next few days.