No koru on tail of Air NZ plane
Air New Zealand has unveiled a new domestic jet without its iconic koru on the tail.
The A321neo will be the largest aircraft in the domestic fleet with 217 seats.
The new plane is the world’s first black Star Alliance aircraft. As part of being a member of the alliance, each airline occasionally paints one of its planes in a Star Alliance livery – with its large star logo on the tail – to promote the network. Air New Zealand’s chief transformation and alliances officer, Mike Williams, said the airline got special permission to paint this one all black.
‘‘While Star Alliance livery is typically white with a black tail fin, we asked if we could do something a little different and inverse the colours. They kindly allowed us this special privilege, in celebration of how important black is to Air New Zealand and New Zealand.
‘‘Kiwis missing the koru need not look too far – our iconic koru will feature on the wingtips in this oneoff design,’’ Williams said.
The plane has just received its paint job at the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany, and is expected to arrive in New Zealand in November. It will have a long 17,825km multi-stop journey to Auckland via Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns.
The aircraft is one of three new domestic A321neos that will arrive before the end of the year and will be used exclusively for flying around the country. The other two will be painted in the usual black and white colours, with a koru on the tail.
The planes will fly main trunk routes such as Auckland to Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin.
The airline’s domestic jet fleet is currently made up of A320 aircraft, which seat 171 people.
The A321neo is a stretch version and passengers can look forward to more fuel-efficient engines, a quieter ride and larger overhead lockers.
The new domestic version will seat 217 passengers, 46 more than the current A320s that fly around the country. Neo stands for ‘‘new engine option’’ and is roughly 15% more fuel-efficient than comparable models.
The A321neo was first introduced to Air New Zealand’s fleet in 2018 and is currently used for international flying to places like Australia and the islands – although occasionally pops up on the domestic network. These planes are equipped with wi-fi and seat back screens for entertainment.
However, the three new A321s will be exclusively used for domestic routes and won’t have extra features like wi-fi. The screens will drop from the ceiling with a quiz, like the current domestic fleet.
Domestic bookings have surged in recent months and returned to pre-covid-19 levels by April.
‘‘Demand for travel is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon,’’ Williams said.