The pandemic crisis hit Air New Zealand’s operations even harder than other airlines. This was due to the New Zealand government’s particular health restrictions. Therefore, as a result, the airline was forced to ground its entire fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs.
But after almost 600 days the airline is reactivating its largest aircraft, thanks to the opening of New Zealand’s borders.
As reported by the media outlet Stuff, on February 8 Air New Zealand reactivated a Boeing 777-300ER registered as ZK-OKQ with an average age of 10 years, which performed a test flight before returning to commercial service. Its last operation had been in June 2020 on a flight from Melbourne (MEL) to Auckland (AKL).
The ZK-OKQ, along with two other Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, has been preserved in Auckland (AKL) pending the return of international flights, and due to weather conditions in the New Zealand capital, the General Electric GE90 engines have suffered corrosion problems.
Boeing 777-300ERs will re-enter service on trunk routes to Australia and Los Angeles (LAX). The aircraft’s first service will be on February 10 between Auckland (AKL) and Melbourne (MEL). As passenger demand increases, the company will consider reactivating the remaining aircraft.
After nearly 600 days in hibernation, @FlyAirNZ's largest aircraft, the B777-300ER took off for a test flight today, and will return to service on international routes later this week. ZK-OKQ will initially fly between NZ, Australia, and Los Angeles ✈️😀
📸 IG/rashmi777 pic.twitter.com/lq1HLGA5ze— Auckland Airport (@AKL_Airport) February 8, 2022
Andrew Ridling, President of the New Zealand Air Line Pilots Association (NZALPA) said pilots had been training and preparing for the reintroduction of the Boeing 777-300ER for months.
As part of Air New Zealand’s fleet restructuring, the Boeing 777-300ERs will be replaced by Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners by 2027. In this way, they will be standardizing the company’s long-haul fleet on a single model.
See also: After more than two years, New Zealand authorizes Boeing 737 MAX operations
