Air New Zealand Commemorates 20 Years Flying to the United Kingdom

This week Air New Zealand commemorates the 20th anniversary of the airline's inaugural Boeing 747-200 service linking New Zealand and the United Kingdom which commenced with a northbound flight TE002 between Auckland and London on 25 August 1982. Several New Zealand members of parliament and other dignitaries joined Air New Zealand executives onboard the first flight which was met by a Maori welcome party on their arrival in London.

Air New Zealand's initial twice weekly services operated to and from London's Gatwick Airport on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A third weekly return service was introduced in April 1986 and a fourth a few years later. 

Originally a "two-stop" service flying Auckland-Papeete-Los Angeles-London and return, it became a "one-stop" service via Los Angeles in 1984.

In late 1995, Air New Zealand's UK operations moved to Heathrow Airport and at this time the airline was flying five times weekly between Auckland and London. In April 1998 Air New Zealand commenced a daily return service to London via Los Angeles which continues today using Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

The introduction of dedicated Air New Zealand services to the United Kingdom marked a new era for the airline explained Senior Vice President Sales & Distribution, Norm Thompson.

"Air New Zealand had previously appeared in London with DC-10 aircraft under an interchange agreement with British Airways. The terms of the agreement saw an Air New Zealand Auckland-Los Angeles service linking with a Los Angeles-London British Airways flight using an Air New Zealand DC-10.

"The later decision to replace DC-10s with Boeing 747 jumbo jets was to prove the foundation for an increased international presence and dramatic improvements in passengers carried due to the leap in available capacity - the B747 had seating for up to 385 passengers, 117 more seats than the DC-10," said Mr Thompson.

The B747 aircraft was also chosen because of its capability to operate non-stop on the airline's existing and planned routes (Auckland-Los Angeles and Los Angeles-London) without significant payload restriction and it allowed for a true three-class configuration for the first time on Air New Zealand aircraft.

The commencement of a regular international service to the UK by Air New Zealand was viewed as a huge milestone by travellers from both countries as the service supported many to retain close family ties with the other part of the world.

However, air travel was relatively expensive - Air New Zealand's standard economy class return fare was around $1,750 in 1982 and there was no such thing as Air Points. Today the same class of fare ranges from $2,459 in the low season to $2,899 in the high season, with significantly discounted fares available at certain times of the year. And members of Air New Zealand's Frequent Flyer programme can earn 30,000 Air Points per round trip - enough for one free return flight to Australia or the Pacific Islands.

Many VIPs, including royalty, have flown between the UK and New Zealand with Air New Zealand in the past 20 years - a particular highlight being Queen Elizabeth the Second's first ever commercial flight in 1995 to attend CHOGM in Auckland.

Since those early beginnings, Air New Zealand has achieved a global reputation for the quality of its long haul service as reflected in the numerous international awards the airline has received during the last 
decade.

On long haul routes such as Auckland to London, the B747-200 aircraft had: seating for 16 First, 51 Business and 318 Economy Class passengers; five flight crew, and up to 19 cabin crew. In-flight amenities included stereo entertainment channels, movies and Airshow 200, a navigation information display.

The B747-400 series aircraft now operating on Air New Zealand's long haul routes currently has seating for 12 First Class, 56 Business and 324 Pacific (Economy) Class passengers.