Air NZ to fly e-planes on route across Cook Strait
The country’s first commercial electric plane will fly a Wellington-Blenheim cargo route for mail and parcels, Air New Zealand says.
The cargo-only commercial demonstrator flights, carrying mail for NZ Post, will be up and running in 2026, using the Beta Alia plane ordered by Air NZ late last year. At the time they were ordered the airline hoped electric planes would be carrying passengers in the next decade.
A key element of the deal to acquire smaller aircraft was to get Air NZ to the top of the list for more commercially viable passenger aircraft, where it was hoping to replace the 50-seater Q300 regional planes.
Wellington will be the home base for the trial electric aircraft, but there will also be charging ports in Marlborough.
Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said it was a coup for the airport. He called the test route a “giant leap” for sustainable aviation. “Our team put their heart and soul into the hosting bid and that same energy will now be focused on getting this service off the ground.”
Kiri Hannifin, chief sustainability officer at Air NZ, said the demonstrator flights would help to set the country up for lower emissions aircraft. Wellington and Marlborough airports would “help lead the way” for airports to make changes required for lower-emissions aircraft.
Marlborough Airport chief executive Dean Heiford said decarbonising aviation was of global importance, and the electric planes were a big step for the airport on its sustainability journey. “[It] will further cement Marlborough as an important hub to keep New Zealand connected across the Cook Strait.”
The Beta Alia, which Air New Zealand will fly on the route, has flown as far as 480km in test flights. Air NZ consulted with 30 organisations for a year and a half before deciding on four companies to work with, with the Beta Alia plane its first purchase. It also has options to buy two more planes and rights for a further 20.
It will only be used once it has been tested and certified as safe to fly by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority.