Air New Zealand Will Replace Boeing 787 Dreamliner With 777-300ER On All Tokyo Routes

Air New Zealand will implement equipment changes on flights between Auckland Airport and Tokyo Narita for the 2024/25 winter season. As a result, the flag carrier of New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will no longer fly on the intercontinental route, with the Boeing 777-300ER solely relied upon for these services.

Widebody prospects

According to Planespotters.net, Air New Zealand holds a total of nine 777-300ERs. One of these is the newly delivered registration ZK-OKV, which is currently parked. The aircraft arrived on lease this month and had been flying with Cathay Pacific with registration B-KQD since February 2013.

It is this high-capacity 368-seater that is replacing the 787-9 on flight NZ095/4 to and from Narita, which operates three times a week. Aeroroutes highlights that this change will be in effect for flights between October 27th and March 29th.

The oldest of the crop is ZK-OKM, which joined the carrier in December 2010. This aircraft holds 342 passengers, split by 244 seats in economy, 54 in premium economy, and 44 in business class.

These twinjets have been spotted in the likes of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Apia, Avarua, Sydney Brisbane, and Singapore in recent weeks. They have been engaged in operations from Air New Zealand’s base in Auckland. These 342-seaters will replace route NZ099/090 to and from Narita, which is a daily service.

Meanwhile, the airline has 14 787-9s based at its facilities. 12 of these are presently active. The newest arrival is ZK-NZR, which joined the fold on lease in October 2019. The oldest is ZK-NZE, which was delivered in June 2014.

This aircraft has the capacity for 302 travelers, split by 263 in economy, 21 in premium economy and 18 in business. Other than Tokyo, these aircraft have been seen in the likes of Denpasar, Vancouver, Papeete, Apia, Nadi, Tongatapu, Brisbane, Perth, and Hong Kong.

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Plenty of action across the skies

The 777-300ER has shown its reliability in handling major operations for Air New Zealand over the years. For instance, last month, the airline’s activity on five key routes was as follows:

Auckland-Los Angeles

• 42 flights each way
• 14,364 seats in each way

Auckland-Singapore

• 35 flights each way
• 11,970 seats each way

Auckland-Sydney

• 29 flights each way
• 9,918 seats each way

Auckland-Brisbane

• 26 flights in each way
• 8,892 seats in each way

Auckland-Francisco

• 22 flights each way
• 7,524 seats each way

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

Looking ahead

According to data analytics company Cirium, Air New Zealand will handle 86 flights and 30,088 seats each way this November. As such, it will be a busy period for the airline’s 777-300ERs following the full switchover from the end of October.

What are your thoughts about Air New Zealand’s Boeing widebodies? What do you make of the overall fleet mix? Let us know what you think of the airline and its plans in the comments section.

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