OK, I know what you re thinking, when you read that I flew to Auckland and back last week with Air New Zealand in their version of Business Class, which is called Business Premier, but come on, there are very few "perks" left in this world of travel and it was great that Air New Zealand was generous enough to upgrade me to Business Premier.

The Air New Zealand Business Premier experience was also something I think many other airlines today can only aspire to, with many other Business Class experiences lacking the degree of comfort or quality that they should.

Not this one though, with not only Brisbane Airport without question being the best and smoothest international airport in Australia, but the Air New Zealand experience commencing right at check in, with the New Zealand branding and impact starting right there, growing through the excellent Koru Lounge and increasing until boarding, when one enters New Zealand while actually still in Australia.

The first thing that struck me on boarding the Air New Zealand 777, that is after I had been served a very nice NZ sparkling wine, was that not only is the Kiwi accent alive and well and very different to the Australia's accent, but that Kiwi national pride is also very much alive and well, with not only this New Zealand promotion and pride relating to the food on board, which is superb, but even the cosmetics in the bathrooms and more.

The Cabin Services Manager, Dee Farrell Black, on the BNE-AKL leg was one of the most enthusiastic and passionate people in her role I have ever seen and experienced, with even her pre departure announcements the best, most enthusiastic and welcoming I have ever heard, and all delivered with that amazing Kiwi accent. Dee's enthusiasm also emanated right through every crew member, who along with Dee were all clearly very proud indeed to be working for Air New Zealand, as New Zealand's national airline and a critical feature of New Zealand's national pride.

Business Premier is only available on Air New Zealand's 747 and 777 aircraft, with Air New Zealand saying that they chose the most comfortable, fully lie flat bed in its class for their Business Premier cabin, from guess who?

Yes, you guessed, the Business Premier seat reportedly comes from Virgin Atlantic! 

The Business Premier leather seat is a very luxurious 22" wide - with all the seats set at an angle to maximise access - really more like an armchair, with a separate ottoman footrest that doubles as a visitor's seat and one of the few airline seats in the world that you can have in the reclined position for take off and landing and even better, with your feet on the ottoman! 

When you are ready to sleep on long haul flights, with the Tasman flight unfortunately a tad short, the seat converts into a six foot, seven and a half inch long, with your own large cotton pillow, a duvet and sleep sheet.

There was also no fiddling with small tables, with a large table available for work or even more of that sparkling wine and if you wish, having dinner with a colleague!  All the seats also have common connector power sockets so no adaptors needed.

The in flight entertainment was also very good, with a 10.4" high resolution screen and in seat remote control allowing me to play, stop, fast forward and rewind movies and TV programmes whenever I wanted to, especially when I fell asleep - with a really good selection available - I even watched the comedy Valentine's Day on the way back!  The active noise cancellation headsets make a big difference and the Airshow 4200 moving map, is better than any I have seen recently.

The food was excellent and the service fabulous on both legs, with the dishes featuring New Zealand cuisine, wines and more!

On the way back, I was able to experience Air New Zealand's new and very smart, dedicated Business Premier check in with electronic kiosks, check in desks and exclusive baggage facility, separate from other classes, and- all one short private lift ride from the Koru Lounge.

So, in summary, great crew, the New Zealand crew's engaging personality and the NZ cultural flavour and cuisine, right from boarding made the difference to me and would lead me to recommend Air New Zealand to others.

Finally, we departed on both legs bang on time and arrived early in both AKL and BNE, with a very smooth process on departure and arrival at both airports.