Air New Zealand's big comeback: 14 international routes relaunched in 16 days

Air New Zealand is gearing up for its big return to the international market with the relaunch of 14 international routes within 16 days. The airline will be operating at 60% of its international capacity with the return of routes like Honolulu, Houston and Tahiti after more than 800 days of not operating. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said the carrier will be bringing back its Boeing 777-300 aircraft. “To bring one Boeing 777-300 out of storage in Auckland takes around six to eight weeks to get it ready for the skies,” said Foran. The 777-300ER is the largest of the airline's long-haul jets, seating 342 people. It was the first to introduce the revolutionary SkyCouch, which joined three economy seats together to form a bed. It also flew the flagship Auckland to London route for many years, before it was suspended. In 2020, the airline sent its whole fleet of 777-200ERs as well as four 777-300ERs to storage facilities in United States deserts. The older and slightly smaller B777-200ERs were written down by $338m in 2020, and last year the airline said they would never fly for the airline again. The larger 777-300ER aircraft will be phased out by 2027, and be replaced by the more fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners. It’s been reported the airline has been offering cash incentives of up to $1400 to entice people to work for it, and Foran said there has been a huge recruitment drive “We’ve hired or rehired more than 2000 Air New Zealanders across the business including 150 pilots, more than 500 cabin crew, and 270 airport employees, with another 1100 vacancies to be filled.” He added that the airline is seeing a big increase in interest in flying across the Tasman.<br/>