Air New Zealand’s ANZAC Day dawn service from Auckland to Sydney carried a commemorative Kia Ora on every seat, each copy dedicated to a different New Zealander who served across more than 40 conflicts over 127 years, in partnership with the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Before flight NZ101 boarded on 25 April, Petty Officer Musician Colin Clark of the Royal New Zealand Navy band played the Last Post at the Auckland departure gate. It set the tone for what the airline describes as one of its most meaningful flights of the year.
Every passenger who took their seat found a commemorative edition of the airline’s in-flight Kia Ora magazine waiting for them.
Each copy, the airline says, was dedicated to a different New Zealander who served, or is still serving, drawn from the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph database, a digital archive containing service records from more than 40 conflicts spanning 127 years.
Personnel from the New Zealand Army, Navy, Air Force and Merchant Navy were represented, including those who served alongside Australian and allied forces.
Air New Zealand Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Kiri Hannifin said the flight carried weight beyond the kilometres.
“Today’s flight is very special. These are important stories we’re carrying that have helped shape our country and our history. Anzac Day is one of Aotearoa’s most unifying national moments.
“Many of us have relatives who have served, and to partner with the Auckland War Memorial Museum to bring these stories to the skies on a day of national remembrance was very special,” Hannifin said.
The story behind one seat
Among the profiles on board was the story of the late Corporal Douglas “Duggy” Grant of the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS), shared by his wife, Staff Sergeant Tina Grant. Corporal Grant was mortally wounded while attempting to rescue civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2011 — New Zealand’s third fatality in that conflict and the first NZSAS member to die there.
Since his death, Tina Grant has advocated for improved long-term support for bereaved families of New Zealand Army personnel and helped establish the New Zealand Families of the Fallen Charitable Trust. Her contribution to the commemorative edition puts a name and a face to what the project is trying to do: make service records feel personal, not archival.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive David Reeves said the partnership brought years of archival work to a far wider audience.
“Through Online Cenotaph, we have worked over many years to broaden how Anzac Day is understood, by sharing records and stories from more than 40 conflicts in which New Zealanders have served. Seeing these stories acknowledged by Air New Zealand today brings that work to a wider audience,” Reeves said.
Air New Zealand also made a charitable donation to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association (RSA). All profiles from the flight will be added to the Online Cenotaph, the Museum says, making them permanently accessible to researchers, whānau and the public. The special Kia Ora edition will be formally preserved in the Museum’s institutional archive.
Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou.
We will remember them.
The airline has been active across the trans-Tasman this year, having released 1.7 million trans-Tasman seats for summer and launched its new Koru loyalty programme, replacing Airpoints for more than five million members, earlier this month.
