What Happened To Air New Zealand’s Boeing 747-400s?

Owing to its distant location on the southwestern fringe of the Pacific Ocean, long-haul commercial aircraft are crucial to New Zealand’s aviation sector. Presently, the country’s flag carrier airline, Air New Zealand, operates aircraft from Boeing’s 777 and 787 ‘Dreamliner’ families for this purpose, with 9 and 14 examples respectively.

However, a little further back in time, the Boeing 747-400 was also key in connecting the country to regions such as North America and Europe. Indeed, ch-aviation shows that eight examples of the type served the Kiwi flag carrier over the years. Let’s step back in time and examine Air New Zealand’s relationship with the 747-400.

The first arrival

The 747-400 model was the most popular variant of Boeing’s ‘Queen of the skies,’ and was one of two 747 variants launched in the 1980s. Airlines preferred it to the 747-300 as its glass cockpit only required two crew members. It also boasted winglets and an increased range, resulting in far higher sales. Specifically, Boeing‘s data shows that it sold 694 747-400s across all variants, and just 81 747-300s.

The first example of the Boeing 747-400 to join Air New Zealand arrived at the Star Alliance member in December 1989. It bore the registration ZK-NBS, and, according to Planespotters.net, the name Bay of Islands. While this was Air New Zealand’s first 747-400, it also operated seven examples of the older -200. These were present at the airline from 1981 to 2000, and five went on to fly for Virgin Atlantic.

Air New Zealand configured its 747-400s in two different three-class layouts. Six had 46 business class, 39 premium economy, and 294 economy class seats onboard, while the other pair featured a higher-density setup that had the capacity to accommodate 46 business class, 23 premium economy, and 324 economy class passengers. The airline’s present long-haul jets also have three-class layouts.

The rest of the 1990s

1989 marked the start of what would become a 25-year relationship between Air New Zealand and the Boeing 747-400. The remaining seven examples of the aircraft that the carrier operated arrived throughout the 1990s in the following years:

• 1990 – ZK-NBT Kaikoura.
• 1992 – ZB-NKU Rotorua.
• 1994 – ZB-SUH Dunedin.
• 1995 – ZK-SUI Queenstown.
• 1998 – ZK-SUJ Auckland and ZK-NBV Christchurch.
• 1999 – ZK-NBW Wellington.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

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Of the eight Boeing 747-400 aircraft that Air New Zealand made use of over the years, the carrier received six of them brand-new from the factory. It picked up the other two second-hand from Brazilian carrier Varig (ZK-SUH and ZK-SUI). That being said, although the planes were second-hand, they came to Air New Zealand aged just three-and-a-half and two years old, respectively. Now, let’s examine their fates.

21st-century retirements

The Boeing 747-400 became an iconic aircraft at Air New Zealand, serving flagship destinations such as Los Angeles and London Heathrow, where it even had a crew base. However, after the turn of the century, the airline’s eight 747-400s slowly but surely began to leave the carrier, and the iconic double-decker quadjets ultimately departed across a five-year spell that spanned from 2009 to 2014.

Sadly, four of the eight Boeing 747-400s that served Air New Zealand were scrapped after leaving the airline, with this occurring in Roswell, Victorville (one each), and Goodyear (two aircraft). However, the other four went on to live more varied lives after their time at Air New Zealand. For example, ZK-SUI flew for Air Atlanta Icelandic and Saudi Arabian Airlines before being scrapped in Goodyear in 2015.

Meanwhile, ZK-SUJ also joined Air Atlanta Icelandic, and has been leased to Saudia in the past. ATDB.aero shows that ZK-NBW was the subject of a cargo conversion in 2012, and continues to fly airfreight for Asiana Airlines today. Most interestingly, ZK-NBV has been the subject of a preservation attempt by enthusiasts wanting to turn it into a hotel, having also flown for Wamos Air, Saudi Arabian, and Garuda.

Operational snapshot

By taking a look at data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, we can conclude by getting a better idea of how Air New Zealand used its 747-400s in their final years at the carrier. For example, in 2004, the carrier scheduled 4,397 flights with the type, offering totals of 1,723,624 seats and 8,212,543,080 available seat miles (ASMs). Its top destinations with the type that year from Auckland were:

• Brisbane.
• Christchurch.
• Los Angeles (and onwards to London Heathrow).
• Melbourne.
• Tokyo Narita.

Air New Zealand slimlined its operations with the Boeing 747-400 in 2005, scheduling grand totals of 3,728 flights, 1,461,376 seats, and 6,749,245,888 ASMs with the type during that year. The routes served were similar, although frequencies on the domestic route from Auckland to Christchurch dropped. As well as LA, Air New Zealand served another US West Coast city with the type: San Francisco.

Moving into 2006, the Kiwi flag carrier’s usage of the Boeing 747-400 continued to fall, with 3,180 flights scheduled, offering 1,219,377 seats and 5,684,550,006 ASMs. Things picked up in 2007, with 3,499 flights scheduled, increasing to 3,664 in 2008. However, in 2009, the retirements began, and, over the next five years, the number of 747-400 flights at Air New Zealand fell from 2,433 to none at all.

Do you miss seeing the Boeing 747 in Air New Zealand’s livery? What are your memories of flying on the ‘Queen of the skies’ with the airline? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!