Air NZ not altering its planes for cargo

Air New Zealand will not be converting any aircraft to freighters despite a Boeing specialist being given a border exemption to help work on the initiative.

A recent dump of Covid-19 documents proactively released by the Government included a Cabinet paper requesting an exemption for a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) employee and his family to enter New Zealand to provide ‘‘critical oversight’’ of Boeing aircraft safety issues.

The paper said the man was working on a design change that would enable Air New Zealand aircraft to carry freight in passenger cabins which would significantly add to cargo capacity.

‘‘Any deferral of this work will negatively impact the financial position of Air New Zealand significantly and would create risks to ability of critical freight transport operators to continue to operate safely,’’ it said.

The man had unique knowledge in the field of Boeing aircraft safety issues that were critical to the regulatory oversight of both Air New Zealand and general aviation company Airwork, the paper said. He was also working on a design change supporting the emergency medical helicopters.

Cabinet approved the exemption on April 21. An Air New Zealand spokeswoman on Wednesday said the airline ‘‘actively considered’’ converting aircraft to freighters several months ago, but after further analysis found the cargo demand wasn’t there.

‘‘It is common for the airline to engage with the CAA early on to ensure buy-in for potential initiatives, and this was no different.’’ Air New Zealand was not involved with the official application to Cabinet, she said.

Like most airlines Air New Zealand has been deeply affected by the impact of Covid-19 on air travel demand. The company recently said it was expecting a loss of up to $120 million for its 2020 financial year.

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Cam Wallace in late March said its engineers were looking at modifying its Boeing 777 aircraft so it could get more cargo onto the passenger deck.

The national carrier has eight 777-200ER (four owned, four leased) which have an average age of 14 years, and seven 777-300ER (four owned, three leased) with an average age of eight years. In late May Air New Zealand told shareholders it was grounding its 777-200ER and 777-300ER fleets until at least the end of 2020.

The spokeswoman said its 777-300 fleet had been used intermittently to enhance its schedule but this would end in the coming weeks.

Its 777-200ERS had been grounded ‘‘for some time’’, she said. It was proposing to send its eight 777-200ER aircraft to long-term storage, she said.

‘‘These were due to be replaced by the new 787s on order, so we may accelerate their planned retirement by a couple of years, although no firm decision has been made on this yet.’’

No final decisions had been made around where the wider 777 fleet would be stored, she said.

Some aircraft would go to Alice Springs, Australia and some may go to the United States, she said.

Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory desert provides a dry, arid, low humidity environment ideal for the preservation of aircraft.

The national carrier has indicated to analysts that its 777-200ERS may never fly again, resulting in an asset writedown worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Selling aircraft in the current market could prove difficult which may result in the aircraft being turned into scrap and sold for parts.