Air New Zealand says goodbye to the Dreamliner of its time

Air New Zealand's last Boeing 767 takes flight today, ending 32 years of service for the plane described as the Dreamliner of its time. Millions of passengers have flown on 767s which opened up the Pacific Rim for the airline. Air New Zealand has carried a Pope, America's Cup winners and the Rolling Stones in the plane. At least three wedding proposals were made on board. First flown commercially by Delta in 1982, the wide-body plane was smaller than a 747 jumbo but had features that were revolutionary for the time. Its digital "glass cockpit" provided enough information to two pilots and did away with the need for a flight engineer. It was made from the latest material available at the time, had bigger overhead bins than previously seen and a large galley at the rear of the plane that was popular with crew and boasted fuel economy up to 35 per cent greater than the planes they replaced. It was designed to fly transcontinental routes across the United States but was soon put to work flying across the Atlantic and stretched versions across the Pacific. The 767 went on to became the first twin-engine plane certified to fly for three hours away from the nearest airport on one engine.<br/>