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Ross Setford / Getty Images
The Air New Zealand 747 in question, in 2003.
A charitable trust is in a race against time to save Air New Zealand’s last 747, with plans to bring it back to Aotearoa and transform it into a hotel.
Confidence will also come to Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson, star and aviation fanatic, will fly the plane to New Zealand.
This particular 747 entered service with Air New Zealand when it was new, in 1998, and was the last queen of the skies to leave the airline in 2014. Lucia the famous Lord of the Rings livery from 2002 to 2004.
Since then, the plane has been bought by the Spanish charter company Wamos Air, which leased the plane to Saudi Arabian Airlines and Garuda Indonesia, among others.
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Now, the plane must undergo its “D check” (a heavy maintenance visit) and is at the Central Airport of Ciudad Real in Madrid with an uncertain future.
The operator has decided that the “D Check” is too expensive, so he intends to either sell the plane or send it to a junkyard in New Mexico.
Supplied / Stuff
The 747 is now in Spain, and Air New Zealand is expected to allow it to be repainted in the original livery.
New Zealand aviation group “Bring Our Birds Home” (BOBH) has long been interested in repatriating the plane, but its impending retirement thanks to Covid-19 has meant that the project has taken on a new urgency. “We need to get together ASAP with some kind of deal,” says BOBH founder Paul Brennan.
The plane is expected to cost “well south of $ 2 million,” and confidence is about 10 percent of the way there. “
The plan at the moment is to try to save the plane while it is still fit to fly and get it to New Zealand. When you get here, the pioneer in a long line of ideas is to turn it into a Wānaka airport hotel with air-conditioned capsules in the main economy cabin.
It has been proposed to land directly at Wānaka airport, although Brennan says it is a slim possibility.
The main focus right now is “trying to get people interested in the business opportunity because if we can do it, we can save the plane.”
If they can’t raise enough through investors, BOBH would consider a public campaign, similar to buying Awaroa Beach, which raised more than $ 2 million to buy a piece of land in Abel Tasman National Park and return it to public ownership. .
Supplied
The idea is to make the 747 a hotel.
If the plane cannot be secured early next year, it will be sent to New Mexico to be scrapped, but Brennan says the fight will not end. “That’s not a great show, because even a discarded fuselage can be salvaged and reassembled as a display item.
“But obviously, a flying plane is much easier to transport and recover than one that does not fly and needs to be scrapped and shipped by sea.
The preference is to obtain it while it is still operational with about a thousand hours [of flying time] it’s gone before he has his greatest control. “
Brennan says the plane is a classic piece of New Zealand history. “At least two million kiwis flew on that particular plane, and most of them were probably doing their OE, or something interesting kiwis do. So that plane has a lot of stories. It has been a great workhorse for our country ”.
Kevin Stent
Paul Brennan is pushing to return several classic New Zealand aircraft from overseas.
Brennan is asking that anyone who wants to support the business side of the company get in touch; He believes this will be the fastest way to get enough needed cash.
The Bring Our Birds Home campaign is trying to recover six New Zealand aircraft, including the 747, which are currently in different states of decomposition around the world. So far, the group has raised more than $ 26,000 for their overall campaign, and they have yet to decide whether to launch a specific funding request for the 747.
Once the 747 is secured, Brennan says “let’s talk to Bruce Dickinson, who is the lead singer of Iron Maiden. He is a captain of the 747 and we will offer to take him here. “
The plane is likely to land in Christchurch and then be trucked to Wānaka, and Brennan is confident that he will get the money. “It is about the same price as a family home in Herne Bay. So how important is New Zealand history? At least a family home in Herne Bay should be worth it. “
More info: bringourbirdshome.co.nz
