Air New Zealand is a very interesting airline for an aviation enthusiast like me to analyze. The Kiwi national carrier operates some of the shortest routes on the planet alongside some of the longest. For those on the shorter end of the spectrum it relies on turboprop aircraft quite heavily. One new addition to this part of the fleet has just arrived a couple of weeks ago. Let me tell you about it, and what is to be expected in coming months from Air New Zealand short haul operations.
A Very Long Delivery Flight For Such a Tiny Plane
If you’ve ever wondered how tiny planes such as an ATR 72 are delivered to clients located far away from the production plant, well, simply they are flown. It is near impossible to transport an assembled aircraft safely on any other for of transportation. Therefore even small regional turboprops are flown to their final destination.
To do so they are often stripped down of any excess weight, such as interiors, which can be assembled once delivery is complete. This allows to increase the aircraft’s range allowing it to cover longer stretches of its trip and reducing stops. Despite that Air New Zealand’s latest ATR 72-600, had to make the beauty of 8 stops to make it from the assembly line in Toulouse to its new home in Christchurch, New Zealand. On its way it called at:
- Heraklion (Greece)
- Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
- Muscat (Oman)
- Hyderabad (India)
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
- Bali (Indonesia)
- Darwin (Australia)
- Brisbane (Australia)
That translates to a total distance of 12,478 miles covered from Toulouse to Christchurch. A massive flight for such a small plane which will be flying short routes rarely amounting to more than a thousand miles at a time.
Its First Flight and How Air New Zealand Operates Its Fleet of ATRs
The little aircraft, entered service after have final touches applied at the ANZ facilities in Christchurch on January 16th. Its first flight saw it take on the short hop from Christchurch itself to Invercargill. A short hop of just 289 miles to the southernmost point of New Zealand’s South Island.
This is exactly the type of flights ANZ’s ATR 72-600 ZK-MZG will be taking on from here moving forwards. Air New Zealand, in fact, uses its small ATR turboprop fleet, alongside its Dash 8 fleet, to connect its larger hubs of Christchurch, Auckland, Queenstown and Wellington to some of the smaller and most remote locations of the pacific country. These flights are particularly short making them ideal for turboprops which are more efficient on these distances over jet aircraft. Also these are small and remote destinations which wouldn’t even have demand to support anything larger than an ATR or a Dash 8 on most days.
More Turboprops On The Way in 2025 – Another ATR Expected
Currently ANZ operates a fleet of 53 turboprop aircraft. That is a very large number considering a total fleet size of 112 aircraft. They make up a huge chunk of the fleet testifying how important they are to filling the gaps in the airline’s network.
Air New Zealand is looking to further expand its regional turboprop aircraft fleet with more planes. The next expected to arrive later in 2025. It will also be an ATR 72-600. More news on when it will arrive and enter service later in the year.
High Speed Internet Soon Also Available on Air New Zealand’s ATR 72-600s
Another thing to lookout for, in regard to the regional ATR turboprop fleet, is the arrival of high speed internet aboard. As covered in an earlier post, ATR has received a Supplemental Type Certificate to have Starlink connectivity equipment installed on the aircraft fuselage.
This will bring high speed internet connectivity to the airline’s short range regional fleet from gate to gate and greatly enhance the onboard experience for passengers traveling on these flights. There’s something to look forward to if you are planning to travel on ANZ’s ATRs later this year.
