Air New Zealand's first plane arrives back from desert boneyard

The first of Air New Zealand's 'desert planes' has arrived back in the country – marking a significant milestone in the airline's post-Covid recovery. In 2020, the airline sent four of its largest planes – the 777-300ER – to a storage facility in Victorville, California, in the Mojave Desert. It was part of a wider grounding of its 777 fleet. The first of those planes, with the registration ZK-OKP, arrived back in Auckland at 4:45am on Tuesday, 23 August. The jet will now undergo six to eight weeks of maintenance before flying passengers again in September. The 777s are being brought back sooner than expected due to demand surging more than anticipated. Before being flown to Auckland, the aircraft underwent a "good wash" to get rid of the desert dust and grime. Earlier in August, Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer Alex Marren explained what happened after its clean. "Our engineering teams then remove the protective shrouds and materials on the wheels, sensors and wings and undertake a thorough servicing and maintenance programme to get these aircraft serviceable and ready to fly again. From servicing the wheels on the landing gear to checking upholstery and the inflight entertainment system within the cabin, a lot of work goes into these aircraft to make sure they are ready to welcome customers back on board."<br/>