Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to fly to Perth, Copenhagen, Bali and most recently Auckland. Out of the eight flights I've taken, I felt the most well-taken care of, and was impressed by the warm service on Air New Zealand.
And I'll be upfront; it's the stellar service that impressed me, not the hardware. That will change very soon in 2024, when Air New Zealand roll out their new 787-9 Dreamliners fitted with new and improved seats, but more on that next time because I want to talk about the service of the cabin crew who kept their service excellence and energy high over the entire 10-hour flight from Auckland to Singapore on 3 March 2023.
The two attendants, a lady and a gentleman, swept down the aisles over a 10-hour flight with their warm personalities, punctuating requests with "of course, darling", "is that all, my love" and more in the most genial of ways. Even if you usually cringe at endearments from strangers, their brisk yet consistently warm service, frequent check-ins when you wake up from a nap ("Water or juice sweetie?"), kōrero (chat) while queuing for the washroom, winks while handing out warm garlic bread and more will warm you up to them. So, we checked in with Debbie Ridgeway, Air New Zealand Inflight Services Manager and trainer checker who has been with Air New Zealand since 1986, about her top flying tips:
- Drink up
- Move around
- Pack a little luxury
- Keep coffee for breakfast
- Beat jetlag by taking a nap
