As an airline, Air New Zealand has really been put to the test with the health crisis of 2020.
New Zealand's zero-COVID policy largely put a stop to international air travel,
while the country's domestic aviation market slowed down as well. However,
the airline has persevered and now, things are looking up.
In recent months, the airline has been hard at work re-activating some of its long-haul
aircraft and has offered some exciting plans for its international 787 cabins,
which will debut in 2024. With so much exciting and positive news,
let's take a deep dive into the 2022 Air New Zealand fleet.
At a glance, data from Planespotters.net indicates that Air New Zealand has a fleet of 104 aircraft -
at least at the time of this video’s production. The aircraft types and quantities are as follows:
29x ATR-72-600s 23x De Havilland
Canada DHC-8-300s 18x Airbus A320-200s
Six Airbus A320neos Seven Airbus A321neos
Seven Boeing 777-300ERs And 14x Boeing 787-9s
While the collection of aircraft operated by Air New Zealand isn't quite as simple as,
say, Virgin Atlantic, it's also not quite as diverse and complex
as an airline like Korean Air. Indeed, grouping 787 and A320 variants together,
the airline really only has five different types to operate.
Still, this relative simplicity hasn't limited the airline's operations too much. Indeed,
the ATR and DHC turboprops are well-suited to island-hopping, while its A320 family of
aircraft handle a variety of services across the Tasman Sea to Australia. When it comes
to higher-capacity operations, or flights to more-distant intercontinental destinations,
the airline's Boeing widebodies are fully capable of these long-distance missions.
When it comes to Air New Zealand's turboprop fleet, there are two types: The ATR72-600 and
the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300. The ATRs are much younger, with an average age of a
little over five and a half years. Meanwhile, the Dash 8-300s are much older with an average age of
roughly 16 years. The airline's youngest ATR72 has a somewhat special status as the 1,600th ATR
ever built. The delivery was the last of 29 ATR 72-600s ordered by the flag carrier of New Zealand
and this particular unit holds registration ZK-MZF. Commenting on the delivery of the
special turboprop, the airline's CEO Greg Foran offered the following statement in December 2021:
“We really value our longstanding relationship with ATR and this will be the 29th to join our
fleet since 2012. During that time the fleet of ATRs have boosted the
airline’s regional network by over 50% and they have proven extremely efficient.
Our ATRs have helped us build one of the best domestic networks in the world...”
While ATR and De Havilland Canada offer competing products, the two variants operated by Air New
Zealand are different enough to offer some versatility in operations. The Dash 8s have a
capacity of 50 passengers while the ATRs can seat 68. This difference in capacity, will certainly
also impact the airports to which they can operate as range and runway length are affected.
While the Dash 8s are significantly older, some of the airline's turboprops are
playing a special role in weather prediction and climate research.
Indeed, the airline is now helping NASA with climate change. This is carried out
through operating daily flights with NASA satellite receivers installed aboard one
of its Dash 8-300 aircraft - which the airline says is "a world-first."
The website Airline Ratings notes that the receiver uses direct and
reflected GPS and Galileo signals to collect unique environmental data in order to better
predict storms and enable new climate change research. Together with NASA, Air New Zealand
has been working on the design, installation, and certification of the receiver since 2020.
Naturally, Air New Zealand uses its A320 and A321 aircraft for services
across the greater region. This may range from higher-capacity domestic
flights between cities across New Zealand, or the jets could be deployed to increase
the frequency of service across the Tasman Strait to Australia's East Coast.
While the airline has 18 A320-200s which are collectively nearing around nine years of age,
its neo jets (both A320 and A321) are between one and four years old. With the airline growing
its narrowbody fleet, we will be seeing more neos arrive as ch-aviation.com data indicates that, at
the time of producing this video, the airline is expecting to have another seven Airbus A321neos.
Some of these new A321neo aircraft will be configured in a new but more dense "domestic
configuration." As we reported in a previous article on Simpleflying.com, these have 217 seats,
against 214 for international operations. The first revenue-generating service for
this configuration is planned for October 28th, according to the latest Cirium data.
Air New Zealand relied heavily on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners during the pandemic. The
airline opted for the newer-generation type over the older Boeing 777-300ERs,
which were parked up due to lower demand and travel restrictions of the pandemic. Thus,
while it's only the second-largest airframe flying for the airline,
it is arguably the true core of Air New Zealand long-haul operations.
The airline now has 14 787s which currently average roughly six years of age. The
oldest 787s were delivered in 2014 while the newest in the fleet arrived in October 2019.
According to data from ch-aviation.com, Air New Zealand is expecting two more Boeing 787-9s as
well as six of the stretched 787-10s. The decision to order these eight aircraft was made in May 2019
and was originally eight GE-powered 787-10s worth $2.7 billion at list prices. According to its 2019
announcement, the eight jets were originally set to enter the Air New Zealand fleet between 2022
and 2027, but naturally, deliveries were delayed due to the pandemic. Indeed, the airline reached
an agreement to defer the initial delivery date of its most recent Dreamliner order to 2024.
Older reporting indicates that the order was then adjusted to be seven 787-10s
and one 787-9. However, examining the current data on Air New Zealand's outstanding orders,
it would seem that the airline adjusted things a second time, downsizing another 787-10 and
swapping it for the longer-range but shorter 787-9. Interestingly, a Reuters report noted
that Boeing had beaten out rival Airbus, which had proposed the A350 for the hotly contested
deal. Our own guess is that type commonality was a huge factor in Boeing winning over Airbus.
Air New Zealand’s new 787-9 Dreamliners are anticipated to be game-changing when it comes
to the passenger experience. Indeed, it is claimed that the new interiors will provide
"the best sleep in the sky regardless of the cabin customers choose to fly in."
One innovative new feature as part of the new interior will be special sleeping pods.
Comments made by Air New Zealand's CEO suggest the "Skynest" won't be available
to a passenger for the entire journey. Instead, it will be an add-on. Thus,
passengers seated in economy class can book a Skynest by the hour for an additional fee.
The airline plans to have six Skynest pods on their Dreamliners post-2024 with retrofits to
existing aircraft scheduled as well. The Skynest is just one of the new seat and cabin upgrades
passengers can expect, as the airline also teased a host of other new features in its relatively new
promotional video. ​​​
Although most of the excitement has to do with the airline's Boeing 787s, we can't forget Air New
Zealand's largest aircraft: The Boeing 777-300ER. Sadly, many of these jets were initially sent
for storage in Victorville in August 2020, with an additional three stored in Auckland.
Now, with the travel situation having improved greatly since 2020 and 2021,
several of these widebody jets have now returned to commercial passenger. The airline had also
recently announced that it will "repatriate" the other 777s that were stored in California.
“When the difficult decision was made to store our 777 fleet,
we knew that the desert was an ideal environment due to its hot and dry conditions. After being
stored for almost two years in this climate, they are coming out of long-term parking in
good condition,” -Alex Marren, Air New Zealand Chief Operating Officer
As you may already know from Simple Flying articles and videos on our
two youtube channels, a great deal of work will need to take place in
order to re-activate aircraft and get them out of long-term storage.
As with all aircraft, such as Air New Zealand’s 777s, work will include servicing the wheels
on the landing gear, checking upholstery, and updating inflight entertainment system content.
All in all, it looks like the Air New Zealand fleet composition will remain quite similar for
the next decade or so - particularly when it comes to aircraft types being operated. At the
same time, we can expect to see some beautiful, innovative cabin interiors in the coming years
with the introduction of the "Skynest" (and other products) onboard the Boeing 787-9.
What do you think of Air New Zealand's fleet? Let us know by leaving a comment.