Christchurch
Just like the SFO-BNE inaugural last year, the SFO-CHC was another big deal. Official party in the Polaris Lounge with plenty of speeches including Jeremy Clarke-Watson, New Zealand's Consul-General to Los Angeles. And great food, much better than what's available to the rest of the Polaris Lounge, along with an ample selection of wine. Plenty of senior people from United and I think Air New Zealand as well, including Captain and Vice President of Flight Operations Marc Champion, in addition to Patrick Quayle (Senior Vice President, Global Network Planning and Alliances) and Lori Augustine (Vice President, San Francisco Hub), all from United Airlines. Some intense planning clearly went on, and we had not one, not two, but three captains on the flight (Captain Brian Petrovitch and Captain Rich Parella in addition to Captain Champion, and also First Officer Chris London).
Caught up with a bunch of United frequent travelers at the party, and we spent plenty of time talking to some great people at United, including Dave Ishmael, Kevin Velovitch, and Michael Covey. And just for good measure, Gerald (who was on his way to Hong Kong!) stopped by to say hang out for a bit-- talk about old UCLA connections!
Party then moved from the Polaris Lounge to the gate, where things were in full swing by the time we arrived. Unlike LAX-AKL inaugural which had only one dancer, there was a full troupe of dancers here, in addition to another bunch of speeches and of course, the obligatory ribbon cutting. Boarding the newly-christened Kiwi Cruiser (N28987, a 3 year old Boeing 787-9) was a bit of a production, I think the majority of the United frequent flier Facebook group I knew was Global Services, so throw that in with all the VIP's and it was impressive.
Onboard, international purser Amy had a great team of very experienced flight attendants working with her, and service was not only impeccable but enthuastic. Noted photographer Eric Rubens as well as travel influencer Lindsay Stevens were also onboard, along with David Slotnick from The Points Guy, in addition to many of the already-named VIPs. t'was at least my third time flying with Romaine Welds as well, a United employee who's been to every country (!).
Once onboard, swag in the Polaris cabin included a pajamas, flag pin, stuffed animal, keychain (or two keychains!), three different printed flyers and a card, and a postcard, all done special for the inaugural. And amazingly, despite all of the festivities and all of the VIPs, Captain Champion still managed to have United 730 push back from the gate on time.
As is customary, Dave and his team paid special attention to catering on this inaugural flight. Not sure why the sommelier skipped on New Zealand wines, but the Landmark Vineyards Overlook Pinot Noir 2019 was surprisingly decent, and both the shrimp and salad were quite edible. The crusted rack of lamb was excellent, and while I didn't go too crazy on dessert, the pavlova was supposedly great as well. Never thought I would say any dish on United was truly excellent-- until the lamb chops on this flight! Finally, while I'd previously flown with Eric before on the SFO-BNE inaugural, seeing him and Lindsay work was both fun and memorable-- since Lindsay was seated right across from me, got to see her hard at work the whole flight.