Anyone who has ever been to New Zealand or flown on Air New Zealand aircraft knows how fiercely proud the Kiwis are of their Maori culture. Like the multicultural society they live in, New Zealanders will soon get a taste of Spanish society via a wet-leased aircraft that's about to join the fleet.

Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran had already flagged the possibility of wet leasing a widebody for the summer, so it's no surprise that one is entering service on November 15th. With the peak holiday season rapidly approaching, the airline has taken the proactive step of bringing in an extra widebody, fully fitted out with its own crew of pilots and flight attendants.

Who am I flying with?

A Wamos Air A330 is on lease to Air New Zealand
Photo: Wamos Air

The extra capacity comes from Spain's Wamos Air, a global leader in aircraft charters, including wet leases which involve both aircraft and crew. The plane is a 280-seat Airbus A330-200, one of four in the Wamos Air (Wamos) fleet, which also includes five A330-300s.

To find out more about the wet lease program, Simple Flying contacted Air New Zealand (ANZ) today, and they supplied us with a statement from their General Manager Short Haul Airline, Jeremy O'Brien. He said that this short-term solution will ensure the airline can get their customers where they need to be during these holidays. It is a buffer against soaring customer demand, staff shortages and high sickness levels.

"Our main priority is ensuring our customers can reconnect with their friends and whãnau [extended family] this summer holiday period. This A330-200 aircraft builds 280 seats into our schedule and will help ease capacity constraints across the network. Wamos Air is a proven and trusted provider, and I am confident they will deliver to our high standards of customer care onboard."

WAMOS AIR A330 Business Class
Photo: Air New Zealand

When COVID-19 struck, ANZ sent most of its Boeing 777s off to the desert for a spell in the sun. When New Zealand shook off the pandemic restrictions, the airline was caught somewhat off guard with all the demand coming over their booking system and a shortage of aircraft to service it. Based on data from ch-aviation.com, ANZ has four 777-300ERs back in operation, with three still inactive, plus another four 16-year-old 777-200ERS that are unlikely to return to service.

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Here's where Wamos is going to work

The Wamos A330 will operate the daily Auckland Airport (AKL) to Australia's Perth Airport (PER) service from November 15th to February 16th, 2023. Today that service, NZ175, was operated by an Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9, registration ZK-NZE, which departed Auckland at 13:06 and arrived in Perth at 14:58. The 787 took just under seven hours to cover the 3,320 miles (5,340 kilometers) and is scheduled to depart Perth Airport at 18:50, arriving in Auckland tomorrow at 06:00.

Here's what you will be sitting on

WAMOS AIR A330 Economy Cabin
Photo: Air New Zealand

The Wamos aircraft, believed to be registered EC-NCK, has 20 lie-flat business class seats and 260 economy seats, with an inflight entertainment system with access to the usual selection of movies and TV shows. Meals and refreshments will be the same as on other ANZ international flights, and all ground services and lounge access are as usual.

WAMOS AIR A330 00006
Photo: Air New Zealand

Unfortunately, the one thing that is missing is the ANZ Economy Skycouch. The airline recognizes that some passengers may not be happy about booking with ANZ and traveling on Wamos, so if that's the case, they can get a full refund or one of those pesky travel credits.

The Wamos Air A330 will be in plenty of selfies this summer, would you be happy to fly in it?

  • Air New Zealand Tile
    Air New Zealand
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    NZ/ANZ
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport, Wellington Airport
    Year Founded:
    1965
    Alliance:
    Star Alliance
    CEO:
    Greg Foran
    Country:
    New Zealand
    Region:
    Oceania