Air New Zealand in my opinion is one of the most fascinating airlines and fleets out there. The country’s positions and geography is such that the flag carrier has to fly some of the longest routes in the world and some of the shortest. This makes, from an aviation enthusiast’s point of view, the perfect recipe for a very interesting fleet. Let’s deep dive then into Air New Zealand’s Fleet in 2022.
The Air New Zealand Fleet in 2022
The kiwi national carrier has to be able to perform both extremely long journeys towards the United States and Asia, and quick short hops for domestic connections. This is why the Air New Zealand Fleet features both wide body jets, narrow body jets and turboprops.
Let’s then breakup the airline’s fleet by range in:
- Long
- Medium
- Short
Air New Zealand’s Long Range Fleet
The kiwi airline’s long range fleet is comprised of only Boeing planes. At the moment the airline owns and operates:
- 14 Boeing 787-9
- 4 Boeing 777-300ER
- 6 Boeing 777-200ER
However these last 6 Boeing 777-200ERs were stored as a consequence of covid and are, at the time of writing this post, in the process of being serviced to return to operations.
Specifically these 777-200ERs being currently serviced fly under registration number:
- ZK-OKD
- ZK-OKG
- ZK-OKB
- ZK-OKC
- ZK-OKF
- ZK-OKH
Prior to the pandemic the airline also had 2 more 777-200ER and 3 more 777-300ER in dry lease. These were returned to the lessors thought.
The Medium Range Fleet
The medium range fleet this, on the other hand, is an all Airbus fleet. The airline uses these planes to fly many of its routes towards Australia.
It must be noted though that Air New Zealand has taken delivery of its latest Airbus A321neo, ZK-OYA, aircraft type which is in a so called domestic configuration. The domestic configuration features a one class cabin (all economy) in a 3-3 layout.
At the moment Air New Zealand’s Medium range fleet features:
- 6 Airbus A320neo
- 17 Airbus A320-200
- 8 Airbus A321neo
In the coming weeks one more Airbus A321neo will join the Air New Zealand Fleet with registration number ZK-OYB. This A321neo will also feature the so called domestic configuration. These domestic A321neo will be primarily used on flights between cities in the country.
As a point of interest, the ZK-OYB aircraft will feature a special all black star alliance livery.
The airline is also expecting 2 more A321neo in the coming year and 2 more by 2026.
The Air New Zealand Short Range Fleet
Last but not least we must take a closer look at the more nimble smaller planes in the airline’s fleet: the turboprops. These are used on the shortest routes on the network to the smallest airfields in the more remote areas of New Zealand. This portion of the fleet features both European made ATRs and Canadian made De Havillands. More specifically:
- 29 ATR 72
- 23 Dash 8-300
Both the turboprop aircraft types feature a one class configuration with a 2-2 layout across the cabin.
Make sure to come back for more news on all the major airlines and airports here on traveltheworldwith.us.
