Air New Zealand unveils 'world-first' plane without a koru on the tail

Air New Zealand has unveiled a new domestic jet without its iconic koru on the tail. The A321neo will arrive in New Zealand in November and with 217 seats will be the largest aircraft in the domestic fleet. The new plane is the world’s first black Star Alliance aircraft. As part of being a member of the alliance, each airline occasionally paints one of its planes in a Star Alliance livery – with its large star logo on the tail – to promote the network. Air New Zealand’s Chief Transformation and Alliances Officer Mike Williams says the airline got special permission to paint this one all black. “While Star Alliance livery is typically white with a black tail fin, we asked if we could do something a little different and inverse the colours. They kindly allowed us this special privilege, in celebration of how important black is to Air New Zealand and New Zealand. “Kiwis missing the Koru need not look too far – our iconic Koru will feature on the wingtips in this one-off design,” Williams said. The plane has just received its paint job at the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany and is expected to arrive in New Zealand in November. It’ll have a long 17,825km multi-stop journey to Auckland via Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns. The aircraft is one of three new domestic A321neos that will arrive before the end of the year and will be used exclusively for flying around the country. The other two will be painted in the usual black and white colours, with a koru on the tail.<br/>