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Alden Williams / Stuff
Due to the impact of Covid-19 on air travel, Air New Zealand plans to ground its fleet of Boeing 777s until at least the end of 2021.
Air New Zealand will grounded its Boeing 777 fleet for at least another year and the recovery of the airline’s international network is expected to be slower than initially thought.
In a press release, Air New Zealand said it had grounded its 777 fleet until at least September 2021 due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19.
Air New Zealand has eight 777-200ERs (four owned, four leased) and seven 777-300ERs (four owned, three leased).
In May, the airline initially grounded most of its 777-300 jets until the end of the 2020 calendar year, telling analysts that its 777-200ERs were no longer needed.
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Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer Carrie Hurihanganui said that the recovery of the airline’s international network after Covid-19 now appeared to be slower than initially thought.
“The recent resurgence of cases in New Zealand is a reminder that this is a very volatile situation,” Hurihanganui said.
“We are not anticipating the return of any 777s flying until September 2021 at the earliest, so we have made the decision to leave the fleet ashore until at least this time next year.”
Two weeks ago, Air New Zealand posted an annual loss of $ 454 million, the first since 2002. It also expects to have losses next year, due to the impact of Covid-19 on air travel.
Four of Air New Zealand’s 777-300 aircraft will go to Victorville in the California desert, a storage facility often referred to as an aircraft graveyard.
The remaining three will remain in Auckland, where they will return to service if necessary.
The 777-200 aircraft, which has been depreciated at $ 338 million, will be shipped to long-term storage facilities in Roswell, New Mexico and Victorville, California beginning later this month.
The airline’s skeleton international schedule will be operated by its fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners, along with the A320 and A320 / 21neos for the trans-Tasmania and Pacific Islands routes.
The 777-300ERs began entering the airline’s fleet in late 2010, five years after receiving its first 777-200ER.
The airline secured purchase rights for both fleets in a 2004 agreement that was part of a review of its long-haul fleet that resulted in the phasing out of its Boeing 747s and 767s.
The 777-300ER has an average age of eight years and the smallest 777-200ER has an average age of almost 14 years.
