At the time of collecting our data, Star Alliance member Air New Zealand is listed as having 105 aircraft in its fleet. This is a mix of narrowbodies, and widebodies, used for island-hopping and intercontinental long-haul operations, respectively. With the airline phasing out some of its older aircraft over the past two years, what are its oldest in 2023? Let’s take a look.
Recent retirements
In September of 2020 we had our first look at Air New Zealand’s oldest aircraft. At the time, these were a collection of Airbus A320-200s ranging from 16 to 17 years old at the time.
However, the aircraft, registered ZK-OJB, ZK-OJD, ZK-OJF, and ZK-OJI have all actually left the fleet. OJD, OJF, OJB, and OJI were all removed from service over the course of 2021. Additionally, the Airbus A320-200 registered ZK-OJM was removed from service in September of 2022.
The fate of these aircraft? Well, according to Planespotters.net, all five jets are now in storage in the wide, arid, and expansive deserts of the United States. Four of the aircraft are stored at an ‘airplane boneyard’ at Tuscon International Airport while the fifth is being stored at the storage facilities located at Roswell Industrial Air Center in New Mexico.
The reason these jets were removed is more than likely due to Air New Zealand taking delivery of brand new Airbus A320neos and A321neos over the same period.
The oldest aircraft
So, with the aging A320-200s continuing to be phased out, what are the airline’s oldest aircraft now? Could they be simply more A320-200s?
Actually, no. The oldest aircraft being operated by Air New Zealand are now its entire fleet of 23 De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300s. These turboprops range from a youthful 14 years all the way to 18 years. The very oldest is registered ZK-NEA, which was delivered to the airline in July 2005.
ZK-NEA, like all other DHC-8-300s, began service with Air Nelson, which at that point had become a full subsidiary of Air New Zealand and its regional arm, Air New Zealand Link. This regional brand has since been absorbed into the airline’s mainline operations.
The oldest widebody aircraft
As for the oldest widebody jet flying for Air New Zealand, that would have to be the Boeing 777-300ER registered ZK-OKM. Now, this aircraft isn’t technically active at the moment and it’s uncertain if the airline will bring it back. However, the 12.2-year-old twinjet is still listed by Planespotters.net as being part of the Air New Zealand fleet.
According to FlightRadar24.com data, this aircraft’s most recent passenger services took it between Auckland and Los Angeles on a regular basis between June and August 2020. These were likely repatriation services formed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. OKM was ‘put to rest’ November 27th, 2020 in Victorville, California, and has been sitting there since.
A number of OKM’s ‘siblings,’ (the other Air New Zealand 777-300ERs sent to storage with it), were returned to service late last year. These jets operated out of Auckland and serve destinations like Los Angeles, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.
Source: simpleflying.com