The Wild Blue Yonder

I have finally joined that elite cadre - the 'business travelers' - you know, the group that are always mentioned in newspaper articles on high airfares, as in "in spite of the latest rise in airfares, the category that airlines prize most of all, business travelers, will continue to pay for last-minute flights" or something like that.

Well, actually, I joined this group last week when the company paid for me to go down to Queenstown for a site visit and an evidence hearing for new development. Today, I flew up to and back from Wellington for a presentation with the national transport agency with my boss, the 'squared' part of Shane Squared, We arrived at the airport about 25 minutes before departure, which was scheduled for 8:10am (rush hour for the business travelers). We walked over to the dispensers in front of the ticket counter, and a quick entry of my name resulted in two movie theater-style tickets being printed out. Shane has a membership with the Air New Zealand club and got us in for the remaining 10 minutes before we had to be on board. There was a full breakfast bar and a barista serving up custom coffee orders, all complimentary. Then, through a quick security check and on to the plane, and we were off. Two important things to note:
1. The only ID proof I provided was the ability to spell my first and last name correctly into the ticket dispenser.
2. Just to repeat, we walked into the terminal, without tickets, 25 minutes prior to departure, and still had time for coffee and a quick bite.

The same process was repeated at the end of the day (the evening rush hour!) with two exceptions: first, there was enough time at the airport for both of us to get a full (again, complimentary) dinner at the Air NZ club, and second, the airline served (complimentary) beer and wine on the 30-minute flight, as it was their "rush hour."

I think I can get used to this...