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  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

Air New Zealand has a long and diverse history, and, later this year, the Kiwi flag carrier will have been operating under its current name for 58 years. During this time it has flown a wide variety of aircraft, and its present fleet is also fairly diverse. Indeed, it features turboprops as well as jets of different shapes and sizes from several manufacturers. The average age of the airline's plane is just 8.8 years old.

Widebody jets

Being located in one of the planet's most distant corners, a strong widebody fleet is vital for Air New Zealand's network. While this previously consisted of iconic quadjets like the Boeing 747, Air New Zealand's present widebody fleet consists entirely of twinjets. This is indicative of the move away from such aircraft in recent years. Air New Zealand's current widebody twinjets are also mainly Boeing products.

According to data from ch-aviation.com, the carrier operates a total of 106 aircraft at present. Of these, just 22 are examples of twin-aisle designs. The most numerous of these is the Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner,' of which Air New Zealand operates 14, with an average age of just 6.7 years old. It has two more of these on order, as well as six examples of the stretched-fuselage Boeing 787-10 model.

In terms of older twin-engine widebodies, there are also seven Boeing777-300ER aircraft in the Auckland-headquartered Star Alliance member's fleet. These aircraft are 10.8 years old respectively, and five of the seven are active.

When it comes to capacity, the 777s offer more seats, with a total of 342 spread across three classes. The Dreamliners also feature three-class setups, and seat either 302 or 275 passengers depending on the exact configuration.

At present, data from ch-aviation also shows that a single Airbus widebody is flying for Air New Zealand. The aircraft in question is an A330-200, and it is doing so on lease from Wamos Air. Registered as EC-NCK, this European twinjet is 15.7 years old, and has the capacity to seat 260 economy and 20 business passengers.

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Narrowbody jets

While Air New Zealand has a Boeing-dominated widebody fleet, its narrowbody jets are all Airbus designs. The most numerous of these is the first-generation A320-200 model. Air New Zealand flies 17 of these European twinjets, and the type has a relatively young average age of just 9.1 years old at the national carrier. All but one are presently active, and they seat a total of 171 passengers.

However, the new A320neo family is also becoming popular at Air New Zealand. The airline has received six A320neos, whose delivery flights travel via the likes of Gander, Los Angeles, and Honolulu en route from Toulouse. These aircraft are 2.9 years old on average, and feature a one-class, 165-seat configuration.

The larger A321neo is set to be even more numerous than its standard-sized counterpart. Nine 214-seat examples presently grace Air New Zealand's fleet, with an average age of 3.1 years old. Another five are on order, which will bring the total contingent to 14, and see its average age drop further still.

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Turboprops

At the other end of the size spectrum, turboprop aircraft also serve Air New Zealand. The carrier is a rare operator of the Q300 series from the Dash 8 family, and it presently flies 23. These are 16.3 years old on average, and have 50 seats. At the time of writing, all 23 of these uncommon aircraft were listed as active.

However, when it comes to younger, and larger turboprops, look no further than the ATR 72-600. These Franco-Italian regional aircraft are the future of Air New Zealand's turboprop fleet, with the airline's 29 examples clocking in at just 5.9 years old on average. As it stands, just one is inactive, due to undergoing maintenance.

That being said, Air New Zealand may be set to replace them with hydrogen-powered aircraft in the longer term, as it, like many others, looks to become a more sustainable airline. Another interesting aspect of its future operations is the new cabin it plans to roll out on its 787s from 2024. You can read more about it here.

What do you make of Air New Zealand's present fleet? Do you have a particular favorite aircraft to fly on among its current aircraft types? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Source: ch-aviation.com