After so much success with its All Black livery, Air New Zealand is about to unleash another aircraft painted all black. The next in the series is an Airbus A321neo sporting the Star Alliance branding.
The latest aircraft to join the fleet will be one of three Airbus A321neos the airline will receive over the next few months. Apart from the shiny black paint, what's unique about this Air New Zealand A321neo is that it's the world's first black Star Alliance aircraft.
Air New Zealand (ANZ) chief transformation and alliances officer Mike Williams said that black is an iconic Kiwi color embedded in New Zealand's identity and worn with pride on everything from gumboots to sports jerseys.
"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 colors in celebration of how important black is to Air New Zealand and New Zealand."
In a pitch to locals or ex-pats, he said that "kiwis missing the Koru need not look too far - our iconic mangõpare will feature on the wingtips in this one-off design." The koru is a spiral shape based on the shape of an unfurling silver fern frond that symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace. The mangõpare is an artistic Mãori design representing the hammerhead shark and symbolizes strength, courage and power.
The new A321neo will operate on ANZ's domestic network and is configured to seat 217 passengers. The Star Alliance black aircraft is currently with Airbus in Hamburg, Germany and is due to arrive at Auckland Airport in November. ANZ says that the 11,000-mile (17,825 kilometers) ferry flight will follow a route through Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns. The airline also expects to receive an A321neo in September, painted in the classic black and white ANZ livery. With COVID restrictions virtually gone, the airline is looking to the A321neos to add the extra capacity it will need in the busy Christmas and holiday season.
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Williams said that "Demand for travel is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so we're excited that these aircraft will help add much-needed capacity on our domestic routes - they won't be sitting on the tarmac for long." According to ch-aviation.com, Air New Zealand is operating 97 of its 111 aircraft.
Of the 14 not in service, seven are Boeing B777-200ERs which are not likely to return, and four are B777-300ERs, a type that ANZ has repatriated back from desert storage in the US. Its in-service fleet includes 17 A320s, six A320neos, seven A321neos and 14 B787s. The airline also has 52 regional turboprops operated by Air New Zealand Link, split between 29 ATR72-600s and 23 De Havilland DHC-8-Q300s.
Star Alliance seems pretty happy about the new paint scheme, with VP for alliance development and communications Siu Ling Fock saying the group honors each of our 26 member airlines' distinct heritage, character and style. "We know the significance of the color black to New Zealanders, so when Air New Zealand proposed to launch the first-ever all-black aircraft with Star Alliance livery, we were happy to agree."
Are our Kiwi friends and global planespotters happy to see another all-black in the air?