About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited (Māori: Araraurangi Aotearoa) is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999.
Air New Zealand’s route network focuses on Australasia and the South Pacific, with long-haul flight services to eastern Asia and North America. It was the last airline to circumnavigate the world with flights to London Heathrow via Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The latter service was discontinued in March 2013 when Air New Zealand stopped Hong Kong–London flights in favour of a codeshare agreement with Cathay Pacific. Flights to London Heathrow by the airline stopped altogether in 2020 due to heavy competition and a lack of demand. The airline’s main hub is Auckland Airport, located near Māngere in the southern part of the Auckland urban area. Air New Zealand is headquartered in a building called “The Hub”, located 20 km (12 mi) from Auckland Airport, in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.
Air New Zealand currently operates a mixed fleet consisting of the Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo family, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 jet aircraft, as well as a regional fleet consisting of ATR 72 and Bombardier Q300 turboprop aircraft. Air New Zealand was awarded Airline of the Year in 2010 and 2012 by the Air Transport World Global Airline Awards. In 2014, Air New Zealand was ranked the safest airline in the world by JACDEC.
About the Airbus A320neo family
The Airbus A320neo family is an incremental development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliner produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (neo being Greek for “new”, as well as an acronym for “new engine option”) is based on the previous A319, A320, and A321, which was then retroactively renamed the A320ceo family (ceo acronym for “current engine option”).
Re-engined with CFM International LEAP or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines and fitted with sharklets wingtip devices as standard, the A320neo is 15% to 20% more fuel efficient than prior models, the A320ceo. It was launched on 1 December 2010, made its first flight on 25 September 2014 and was introduced by Lufthansa on 25 January 2016.
