iscover
Air New Zealand’s 30th ATR aircraft has officially joined its domestic fleet.
The ATR 72-600, ZK-MZG, entered service on Thursday with a maiden flight from Christchurch to Invercargill, having touched down on 29 December after a week-long ferry flight from Toulouse via Heraklion, Riyadh, Oman, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, Denpasar, Darwin, and Brisbane.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
ZK-MZG is Air New Zealand’s first 72-600 with the Pratt & Whitney PW127XT engine, which the airline says offers an estimated 3 per cent saving in fuel compared to the previous model. Air New Zealand has another ATR slated to arrive in the middle of this year.
“The ATR is a fantastic aircraft and the backbone of our domestic network for regional customers. It performs exceptionally well in New Zealand’s unique operating conditions with its fuel efficiency, reliability, and ability to access smaller airports,” said Air New Zealand’s general manager of strategy, networks, and fleet, Baden Smith.
“The aircraft’s versatility ensures we can maintain a robust and resilient service, connecting our communities across the motu efficiently.
“Introducing our 30th ATR into service is a milestone for Air New Zealand. The addition of this aircraft will provide vital support for our turboprop fleet helping provide maintenance flexibility and helping maintain the reliability of our services for regional customers.”
According to Air New Zealand, the airline “has a proud history of operating ATR 72-600 aircraft, with the first having taken off for the airline 13 years ago in 2012”.
“During this time, Air New Zealand’s fleet of ATRs has helped to boost the airline’s regional network flying an estimated 33.2 million Air New Zealand customers on over 610,809 flights,” the carrier said.
The news comes as Air New Zealand battles continuing headaches with its jet fleet, advising in November that up to six Airbus neo aircraft and up to four 787 Dreamliners have been out of service in the first half of the 2025 financial year, due partially to global delays in engine maintenance.
“This represents over 16 percent of Air New Zealand’s entire jet fleet. Based on current assumptions and recent discussions with engine manufacturers, the airline does not expect these availability issues to ease until early 2026,” the airline said last year.
“However, the airline continues to explore all options to improve capacity including further aircraft leases.”
Air New Zealand in October also began the retrofitting program on its Dreamliner fleet, saying it will be the first airline in the world to refit a 787-9 from nose to tail.
These retrofits, which will be performed on all 14 of Air New Zealand’s existing 787-9s, will not add the new Skynest economy sleeping pods; these will instead feature on its eight new Dreamliners expected to arrive from this year.
The airline was the launch customer for the 787-9 in 2014.
