The mothballed 777-300 aircraft moves out of deep storage in California’s Mojave Desert and back into action as Air NZ bolsters its network after sending four 777-300s to the Victorville facility in 2020 due to COVID-19 impacts on the airline’s flying schedule.
Air New Zealand COO Alex Marren said having these widebody aircraft back in service will gear up the airline for even more flying.
“No one could predict what would happen in the pandemic and now that demand has bounced back quicker than anticipated, we knew it was time to bring these aircraft back from Victorville,” he said.
“It takes around six to eight weeks to get a desert-based 777-300 ready to fly and the team are working with a local maintenance provider to reanimate our aircraft out in the desert.”
After a good wash to rid the aircraft of the dust and dirt accumulated from almost two years of long-term parking in the dry desert environment, engineering teams remove the protective shrouds and materials on the wheels, sensors and wings and thoroughly service the aircraft to be ready to fly again.
“From servicing the wheels on the landing gear to checking upholstery and the inflight entertainment system within the cabin, a lot of work goes into these aircraft to make sure they are ready to welcome customers back on board,” Mr Marren said.
The first 777-300 aircraft is due to leave Victorville in late August for scheduled maintenance in Auckland before rejoining the 777-300 operating fleet in late September.
“The 777-300 is our biggest widebody aircraft, capable of carrying up to 342 customers, and it will be great to have more of these 777-300s flying to connect New Zealand to the world.
“These aircraft going into service means we’re rehiring more cabin crew, pilots and engineers to resource our schedule and it’s been fantastic to see people coming back into the business.
“We know our pilots and cabin crew can’t wait to get back on board to carry customers from Auckland to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Melbourne and more.”
For more info, head to airnewzealand.com.au