Air New Zealand is returning its Boeing 777-300ER to service after almost two years

After 696 days in storage, Air New Zealand is taking its first Boeing 777-300ER out of the desert from Victorville, USA. NZ Herald.

In 2020, the airline deployed four 777-300 aircraft to these facilities in the Mojave Desert due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

High demand following the easing of health restrictions in New Zealand has prompted Air New Zealand to resume more than two dozen routes. Now the company must withdraw its wide-body planes from storage.

Air New Zealand currently operates fourteen Boeing 787-9s on its long-haul routes, with two Boeing 777-300ERs left in New Zealand in case of resumption of operations. A third Auckland-based 777 (registered ZK-OKO) will return to service in the coming weeks. In 2021, they decided to retire seven of their Boeing 777-200ERs.

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The company has pending delivery of two additional Boeing 787-9s and six Boeing 787-10s that will replace the Boeing 777-300ER in 2024.

Air New Zealand COO Alex Marren said it was great to see these aircraft back in service and help prepare the airline for more flying.

“Nobody could have predicted what was going to happen with the pandemic, and now that demand has rebounded faster than expected, we know now is the time to bring these planes back from Victorville.” Maren commented.

ZK-OKP is the first of four 777-300s in storage at Victorville to be reactivated. Air New Zealand is working on a plan to restore the remaining three over the next year.

“When the difficult decision was made to store our 777 fleet, we learned that the desert is an ideal environment due to its hot and dry conditions. After nearly two years of storage in this climate, they are coming out of long-term parking in good condition.” Alex Maren continued.

According to the manager, it will take six to eight weeks to reactivate the 777-300. A team is working with a local maintenance provider to get it out of the desert.

“The process begins with a good scrubbing to remove accumulated dust and dirt from long-term parking in the Mojave Desert. Our engineering teams remove protective covers and materials from the wheels, sensors and wings, and conduct a complete service and maintenance program so that these aircraft are repaired and ready to fly again. . Alex Marren explained to the NZ Herald.

ZK-OKP will depart Victorville for Auckland in late August to undergo scheduled maintenance before rejoining the operating fleet of 777-300s beginning in late September.

The 777-300 seats 342 passengers in three classes: 44 in Business Premier, 54 in Premium Economy and 244 in Economy. Additionally, it has a cargo floor with a capacity of 154 cubic meters.

The model will connect Auckland (AKL) to Sydney and Melbourne (MEL), Australia and San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) in the US.

Other places

Boeing 787 aircraft represent 8.5% of Air New Zealand’s frequencies and, in addition to the destinations mentioned, operate the following:

• Australia: Brisbane (BNE), Perth (PER), Sydney (SYD).
• Canada: Vancouver (YVR).
• China: Shanghai/Pudong (PVG).
• South Korea: Seoul/Incheon (ICN).
• USA: Houston (IAH), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO)
• Fiji: Nadi (NAN).
• Hong Kong (HKG).
• Cook Islands: Rarotonga (RAR).
• Japan: Tokyo/Narita (NRT).
• French Polynesia: Papeete (PPT).
• Western Samoa: Apia (APW).
• Taiwan: Taipei/Taiwan (TPE).
• Tonga: Fua’Amotu (TBU).

From September 17, New York (JFK) will be added, and from October 30, Osaka/Kanzai (KIX) and Chicago/O’Hare (ORD).

See also: Air New Zealand is set to resume 14 international routes over the next 16 days

The three destinations without a return date are Buenos Aires/Ezeza (EZE), Argentina; Norfolk (NLK); and London/Heathrow (LHR), UK; The latter was firmly discontinued.

According to Cirium, Air New Zealand is expected to return to 2019 levels in terms of frequencies by the end of the year, although it will increase seat supply by 9.6% after adding an Airbus A321neo aircraft to its short-haul routes. medium distance.

The company has seven of 14 A321neos on order, plus 18 A320ceo and 6 A320neo, which have kept it busy in the two years since the New Zealand government restricted its borders.