Auckland Airport

What a difference 20 years makes. I cannot fault any aspect of the arrival, a full A380 to the Skybus in about 30 minutes. On departure all formalities were again extremely quick, the only small criticism would be 30 minutes of free wifi - for international departures 30 minutes in woefully inadequate and not up to standard.

Poor arrival experience every time. The agricultural agents are grossly under staffed creating unacceptable long queues in that area. Great letdown for arrival into the country. Modern scanning and more staff are needed to get anywhere near the experience of similar sized international airports. Customs have got it sorted. Time for agricultural to also get sorted.

Arrival was fine really. It was tedious in the fact that you have to go through immigration and then after you collect your bags you then have to line up for them to be x-rayed when you are just longing to get out in the fresh air. But the staff were all polite and patient. We know NZ is very strict on food with hefty fines for fresh food so we brought no food whatsoever to hopefully streamline the process. We were out of the airport within an hour of landing which wasn't too bad. Departure was a little more chaotic. Not sure why they have check in for international flights and arrival on the same floor close to each other. There just doesn't seem to be enough space between the lines for check in and the wall/windows/doors/shops which makes it difficult for all with trolleys full of bags weaving around each other. To actually depart you have to go up the escalators and fill a departure card. That part was fairly stress free. It just seems like this attractive little airport has outgrown itself and needs some expansion to cater for the growing number of passengers.

Having just come off a longhaul flight from Tokyo Narita I was tired. After getting off the plane I instantly noticed how run down and dirty the airport has become, not a very good first impression for a visitor to New Zealand tired from a long flight. Immigration was OK but could be more efficient for those who could use the ePassport gates. Customs had all X-Ray machine running but still could have been more efficient. After clearing customs I had to catch a domestic flight. At the domestic baggage transfer counter there were long queues so I decided to walk with my luggage to the domestic terminal. An absolute nightmare when you have come off a long flight the fact that you have to wait for a long queue just to drop your bag is rediculous and having to carry it to the domestic terminal, even more so. Once in the domestic terminal the seating is grimy and scarce. For once, I was actually looking forward to getting on a plane. Overall, Auckland Aiport is poorly managed and is in desperate need of refurbishment. For this reason I am avoiding Auckland next time I travel.

I travel 6-7 times a year through the domestic terminal for a meeting in the city. I have a 1.5 hour wait either end (because the flight times were reduced drastically with the Q300 entrance). There is absolutely nowhere to find a comfortable seat, unless you find a soft seat at the Bach coffeehouse. I strolled over to the international last time, remembering the soft seats at the atomic cafe but now they are all gone, so I pretended to be a customer at the bar in the corner. I travelled through Christchurch recently and was pleasantly surprised by the comfort and variety of seating provided there - way superior to any area in Auckland airport, either domestic or international. I've passed through Singapore airport on the way to Central Asia and Bangkok as well, and the airport experience in the former easily determines my preferred route. If I had a choice of landing and requiring to spend time in Christchurch or Auckland, my backside tells me which one to choose - as if plane travel wasn't enough discomfort. By the way, Air NZ is easily a preferred airline, but unfortunately it's service level is eclipsed by the airport's lack of comfort provided.

After travelling around parts of the world over the past 18 months the friendliness and ease of processing through Auckland stands out. The e-passports and processing facilities, and the MAF/immigration checkpoint is noticeable by its welcoming attitude. After 12 hours travelling, the last thing I needed was a hassle with rude immigration staff.

Not happy with the arrivals team. Every week I arrive after 10pm Friday (weekly travel to Sydney) and despite there being no queues the staff insist that passengers walk all the way down and back through the queue partitions (about 25 m each way). There is a shortcut but it is always roped off. I'm tired and bored after a week away, plus late arrival, it just seems so unnecessary to be ordered to do "go the long way".

By and large AKL's international terminal is nice and airy with sufficient options for shopping or a feed (although I'd love to find your typical NZ Takeaway selling Burgers, Fish and Chips). Pleasant to travel through, even more so since they scrapped the departure-tax (which every passenger had to pay individually). However, three things annoyed me a little on this visit: 1) When arriving by car the "drop-off" area is not to be found on the signs. 2) The viewing area was not available. Let's hope the renovations lead to something enjoyable that will again afford passengers and visitors a decent view of the tarmac. 3) What really puts me off is the policy of not publishing the departure gate until just before boarding is supposed to start. Neither on the boarding pass nor on the screens is this offered. Obviously the idea is to keep passengers in the shopping area for as long as possible. For me it was just one big nuisance.

Domestic terminal is lacklustre and basic. Follow the signs (not bad but could be clearer one woman scared walking through dark parking lot) to get to the International Terminal about a 10-minute walk. We had already checked in for international flight at Christchurch so went straight to Customs and security. Smart Gate for Kiwis is easy no wait at security. Shopping is OK but nothing special. NZ duty free alcohol is good value though. We had one voucher for the Koru Lounge and paid for one extra entry (about NZD56). Not worth it. Much better on previous occasions. Pasta overcooked. Main meals on counter disappeared and replaced with sandwiches. We flew out of Auckland because we had a premium economy booking on Air NZ (not available out of Christchurch). Next time we'll fly direct.

Having travelled through this airport on average 2-3 times a month for the past 20 years it surprised me to see such a variations in opinions of Auckland Airport. I must add a proviso in that I fly mainly business class with Air NZ ( NZ ) or Singapore Airlines (SQ). At check in Air NZ has a premium desk which works well as does SQ. SQ use the NZ lounge. After check in the outward immigration is automatic for NZ / Australian / UK and US citizens who have a passport with a chip. The security system is efficient and the staff friendly. I would say my longest wait in a queue has been 5 minutes. On arrival the same immigration system is in place if you are on a passport that is not as listed above immigration is manual. I have arrived at different times during the day and my observation of the queues at the manual counters is that they are far smaller than Australia / UK / US etc. If you have checked in baggage it seems to arrive quite quickly I would say my longest waiting time has been 10-15 minutes but that is probably because I am off the plane quickly and have no delays at immigration. The aspect that does need to be streamlined is the quarantine / agriculture inspection (New Zealand is a country based on agriculture and there is a paranoia regarding importation of foods etc. that may contain foreign insects etc.) The queues can be up to 10 minutes and the area needs more staff / desks particularly during busy periods. If the quarantine inspector grants you a free pass you by - pass any x rays etc. and are out the door quickly. Overall I find Auckland quite efficient both departing and arriving but would like to see some streamlining of the quarantine procedures without compromising the purpose behind this screening on arrival.