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Air New Zealand (IATA code: NZ) is known as the national airline of New Zealand. The airline operates flight out of its three main hubs at Auckland Airport, Wellington International Airport, and Christchurch International Airport. Using a fleet of Airbus A320, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 aircraft, Air New Zealand operates schedules passenger flight to 21 domestic and 32 international destinations in 19 countries, with its route network focuses on Australasia and the South Pacific. Since it was established in 1940, Air New Zealand has received numerous international awards. Some of them are World’s Best Premium Economy Class from Skytrax in 2016, Airline of the Year from AirlineRatings.com in 2015 and 2016, and Australasia’s Leading Airline from World Travel Awards in 2015. In operating its flight service, Air New Zealand offers three different flight classes, which include Economy Class, Premium Economy Class, and Business Class. Each class is equipped with sophisticated in-flight entertainment system with a wide range selection of movies, TV shows, audios, and games. All seats feature an ergonomic design with generous personal space. However, if the passenger wants more room in the Economy Class, they can upgrade their seat to Economy SkycouchTM. The seats are the same as an Economy seat, except the passenger has an additional footrest that holds to form a couch. Each person can choose of they want their footrest up or down. These adjust to 60 and 90 degrees. Meanwhile, both Premium Economy and Business Class passengers get to enjoy their flight on a luxury leather seat with generous armrest, a leg rest, and foot support. They will also get an amenity kit, which includes New Zealand made Antipodes skincare pawpaw and avocado lip balm, socks, eyeshades, toothbrush kit, earplugs, and a pen. Not to mention the complimentary in-flight meal service that varies from entrée to dessert. Air New Zealand has even teamed up with top wine consultants to offer a wide selection of premium New Zealand wines to complement each meal. Each of Air New Zealand fare includes a checked-baggage allowance. The maximum weight of any checked-in bag include in passenger’s fare is 23 kg. But, if the passengers pay for an excess baggage charge at the airport, they can extend it to 32 kg as long as there is still space on aircraft. In addition to that, passengers can also carry a cabin baggage up to 118 cm and 7 kg (Economy Class) or 14 kg (Premium Economy and Business Class). Passengers are also required to online check-in at the airport, which opens 24 hours before the flight and will be closed 30 minutes (domestic routes) and 90 minutes (international routes) before the departure. When checking-in do not forget to present the Airpoints membership card. Airpoints is an Air New Zealand’s frequent flyer program. The members of Airpoints get to earn Airpoints Dollars on all eligible Air New Zealand flights, as well as many partner airlines and Star Alliance flights. Accumulated Airpoints Dollars can be used to buy any seat for sale on Air New Zealand’s website and many of the Star Alliance partners. Members can also use the Airpoints Dollars for car rental or hotel accommodation. Airpoints program comes in three membership tier levels, which are Silver, Gold, and Elite.

The journey of Air New Zealand began on April 19th, 1940, when its forerunner airline, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) was incorporated. On October 1953, TEAL became jointly owned by the New Zealand and Australian governments. Eight years later, the New Zealand government assumed full ownership. In addition to TEAL operating international services, the New Zealand government also established NZ National Airways Corporation (NAC) in 1947. A few years later, precisely on April 1965, TEAL was renamed Air New Zealand Limited. The airline continued operating solely international service. Thirteen years after TEAL was renamed Air New Zealand, Air New Zealand and NAC merged on April 1978, forming the first new Zealand carrier to offer both domestic and international services. During the 1980s and 1990s, Air New Zealand continued to expand its international network, particularly to Asian cities like Taipei, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The airline also listed its shares on the New Zealand Stock Exchange as “A” shares (could only be held by New Zealand nationals) on October 1989 and “B” shares (no restriction on nationality of ownership) on December 1991. In 1999, Air New Zealand officially became a full member of the world’s largest global airline network, Star Alliance. This allows Air New Zealand to expand its route network and provide valuable network and loyalty benefits to customers, along with other airline members including Air Canada, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, SAS, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, United Airlines, US Airways, and Varig. Air New Zealand has also experienced some changes. In July 2002, the airline began a fleet renewal program and confirmed an order for 14 new Airbus A320s, replacing Boeing 767-200 and Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Two years later, it was announced that Air New Zealand did an upgrade to the turboprop fleet, with an agreement to acquire 17 new Bombardier 50 seat Q300 turboprop aircraft, and options to purchase a further 10 Q300 and 13 Q400 aircraft. This new aircraft would replace the fleet of 17 Saab 340A aircraft. Besides the fleet renewal program, Air New Zealand also remodeled its business to offer competitively lower fares, simplified booking rules, a focus on internet sales and ease of booking, additional seat availability, and improved loyalty benefits for frequent flyers. Air New Zealand also became the first airline to introduce everyday, low-cost travel across the Tasman. There are other new international routes launched by this airline, too. On June 2004, for instance, direct services between Auckland and San Francisco were launched, with services from Wellington to Fiji and Christchurch to the Cook Islands beginning in late 2004, as well as direct services between Auckland and Shanghai in 2006. Today, Air New Zealand operates schedules passenger flight to 21 domestic and 32 international destinations in 19 countries, with its route network focuses on Australasia and the South Pacific.