Air New Zealand plans fleet simplification

During the presentation of its Fiscal Year 2021 results, Air New Zealand has announced it plans to simplify its fleet by retiring its seven B777-300ERs. Depending on when the leases expire, the airline expects to have phased-out the type by 2027 at the latest. The seven aircraft are currently stored at Auckland and Victorville (CA) and not in use due to the pandemic.

Last year, Air New Zealand already announced the retirement of its eight B777-200ERs. Once retired, the airline will standardize its long-haul fleet on the B787. It currently has fourteen B787-9s in the fleet and has orders for six B787-10s. Originally, the -10s were planned to be used as the replacement of the B777-200ER but will now be used as B777-300ER replacement.

Next to the Dreamliners, Air New Zealand also has twenty A320s, four A320neos, seven A321neos, 30 ATR72s and 23 DHC-8-300s.

Photo by Anton Homma.