A very special Air New Zealand flight departed Christchurch over the weekend carrying 50 Koru Care kids off on a magical journey, with a Kiwi twist.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flown by Air New Zealand’s Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan took off towards the West Coast at 11:40am, looped up and around to pass over Taranaki and with a few extra turns along the way, then headed back to Christchurch to reveal flight NZ4376’s (NZHERO) mystery flight path…
Which turned out to be a Kiwi, of course!
Tell me more…
Gathering at the themed Little Heroes Headquarters at Christchurch Airport, the Koru Care kids started their morning with a pre-flight party, having faces painted, posing for superhero portraits and dancing at a silent disco. Cookie Time joined the fun with some sweet treats and to top it off, there was a surprise acoustic performance from Drax Project.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran, who travelled on today’s flight, says it’s uplifting to offer a special charter flight for kids who aren’t usually able to travel offshore due to medical conditions or family situations.
“Today’s flight is a real heart warmer. Some of these children have never been on a plane before so we wanted them to experience the excitement of flying and our teams have pulled out all the stops to make today a magical experience for our Little Heroes.”
The Little Heroes also met some of their real heroes at the pre-flight party today, including All Blacks Sam Cane and Joe Moody.
Koru Care Chairman Chris George says the support from Air New Zealand for the past 35 years has put smiles on faces and turned dreams into reality for thousands of Kiwi kids.
“It is a privilege to be part of such an amazing day with our little heroes and we are very thankful to our big heroes for making this happen.”
Air New Zealand is offsetting all the carbon emissions from this Koru Care flight and the flights that flew the children to Christchurch, through its FlyNeutral programme.
Cook Island Bubble takes off today
From 17 May, the New Zealand, Cook Islands two-way quarantine-free travel bubble agreement will open, with Air New Zealand launching a 2-3 times weekly service, using its 787-9 fleet between New Zealand and Rarotonga.
The Pfizer vaccine is also expected to be on board the first quarantine-free flight to Rarotonga, in what will be the Pacific nations first vaccine delivery.
General Manager of the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation for Australasia, Graeme West said “COVID-19 vaccinations will be one of the best things that’s happened there in 14 months”.
He said rolling out the vaccine at the same time as the borders were opening was the “icing on the cake” and represented a significant change of fortune for the nation.