Planet Ark co-founder John Dee has challenged the airline to reinstate vegetarian food after rival Virgin confirmed it was still offering meals for people with dietary requirements on equivalent flights.
The Kiwi flag carrier’s CEO, Greg Foran, quipped his staff would give its rival “a good wave when we pass them in the skies” ahead of the 16-hour ultra-long-haul flight.
The 1.2 million litre delivery, equivalent to fuelling 400 return flights between Auckland and Wellington, will be used to test the supply chain to set up future imports.
It follows similar poaching schemes in reverse by the national carrier and also an extraordinary court battle between the two airlines over ‘defecting’ Virgin Velocity loyalty chief Nick Rohrlach.
Husband-and-wife team Ian and Connie Warburton won the competition in their 1974 Piper Cherokee 140. The event saw 86 entrants fly a total of 3,800 kilometres across three different states.
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