News
Air New Zealand accepts first A321neo and launches to Taipei
November 9th 2018
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) has become the latest operator of the A321neo, following the delivery of its first neo – ZK-NNA – last weekend. Read More » It took four days for the aircraft to arrive at its new base at Auckland International Airport, after refuelling in Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns. The airline said a team of nine flew the delivery flight.
The first of 20 new Airbus neo aircraft (14 A321neos and six A320neos) to join the airline’s fleet, the maiden neo is expected to enter commercial service on November 23 between Auckland and Brisbane.
A second A321neo is expected to enter service “in the coming weeks”, while the majority of the remaining aircraft will follow at intervals until late 2019. The new airplanes will replace the airline's A320s that fly trans-Tasman and Pacific Island services. Air NZ’s first A321neo is painted in the airline’s iconic all black livery, is powered by Pratt & Whitney GTFs and accommodates 214 passengers in an all-economy class layout.
Separately, Air NZ is continuing its Pacific Rim expansion. On Sunday, flight NZ77 departed Auckland for Taipei shortly after midday. The B787-9 service will be operated three times a week. Air NZ chief revenue officer, Cam Wallace, who was travelling on the inaugural service, said the launch of the new Auckland-Taipei service marked the start of a busy few months for the airline.
“We're excited to offer our customers a direct link between New Zealand and Taipei. Demand for the three a week service has been strong, particularly around the Chinese New Year period,” Wallace said. “New Zealand welcomes around 42,000 visitors annually from the Taiwan market and we expect this number will grow. With a flight time of just over 11 hours, we also expect Kiwis will be keen to check out this new Asian destination.”
Air NZ will launch its longest nonstop route, from Auckland to Chicago, on November 30 and will add Queenstown-Brisbane and Wellington-Brisbane to its network in December.
