Jaunted

After schmoozing with fresh-faced Air New Zealand flight crew, decked out in entirely new uniforms of Barbie pink, we got a good night's sleep so that we’d be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the handover ceremony, when the airline officially takes ownership of the plane, followed by the delivery flight from Seattle to LA of the first of Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777’s, outfitted with the much ballyhooed SkyCouches as well as the new Premium Economy and Business Premier seats.

For now, until after the holiday, we'll let the gallery of photos above tell the rest of the tale. It includes everything from our images of the Boeing factory to the handover festivities, the Maori blessing of the plane, and our first, exclusive shots of the interior of Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777, plus a quick video walk-through of the plane.

Though the new 777 won’t be put into regular commercial service until April, we’ve also managed to snag a seat on the plane’s delivery flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, and we’ll be bringing you more photo and video coverage of the service and the seats as they behave on a truly long-haul flight, so stay tuned!

Disclosure: Special Jaunted correspondent Eric Rosen was a guest of Air New Zealand for the 777 flights and festivities. Regardless, all images, video and opinions expressed here are completely his own.

[Photos: Eric Rosen for Jaunted]