For almost 60 years, Air New Zealand (Māori: Araraurangi Aotearoa) has served Los Angeles, initially with Douglas DC-8s via Honolulu in 1965, before the 747-200B allowed non-stop service to LA from Auckland. In the 1990s, the -200Bs, each named for an ancestral Māori canoe, bowed out to their newest sibling, the 747-400, and a new livery, called Pacific Wave. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, it was time for the Queen and the Pacific Wave to take their leave, being replaced in turn by the 777-300ER and a livery incorporating both the distinctive koru that has decorated the tails of Air New Zealand aircraft throughout their history and a silver fern leaf across the rear fuselage, a style that first appeared on 777-300ER ZK-OKQ.
Presently, Air New Zealand operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, including 1 ex-Cathay Pacific aircraft, and uses them on twice-daily services to Los Angeles. However, this too will be shaken up in the near future, as a higher-gross weight version on the 787-10 Dreamliner is set to replace the Triple 7s from 2027 onwards.
Server: Solo
Airline: Air New Zealand
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Origin: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Destination: Auckland International Airport, Auckland, New Zealand (AKL)
Flight Number: NZ5
Route: KLAX-NZAA
Seat: 6K (Business Premier)
Time En Route: 12 Hours 22 Minutes
Kia ora and welcome aboard! We’re boarding at TBIT West on a foggy LA night, with the Marine Layer laying on thick.
Watching the preflight safety video while we power up one of the engines and wait for our taxi clearance.
Holding short of Runway 25L as we start engine 2 with the Theme Building in the background
Wasting no time in getting airborne
Climbing to our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet past Malibu. Didn’t get any en-route photos because it’s late, it’s a 12-hour flight, and there’s an extremely good business class seat to take advantage of.
Woken up by the announcement that we’re starting our final descent into Auckland
Landing in New Zealand in the pre-dawn light
Parked at Gate 10 at the International Terminal, with our jet already being readied for the flight to Denpasar in a few hours.