The history of Air New Zealand, the national carrier of New Zealand, began when the amalgamated East Coast Airways and Cook Strait Airways began operations in January 1936 as Union Airways of New Zealand, the country's first major airline. Union Airways was the sole New Zealand aviation partner in Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), which made its inaugural flight in 1940. The New Zealand Government bought full ownership of TEAL in 1961 and the airline was renamed Air New Zealand in 1965. New Zealand's domestic airline, National Airways Corporation (NAC), was merged with Air New Zealand in 1978. Air New Zealand was privatised in 1989 but in 2001 the New Zealand Government took up 80% ownership in return for injecting $885 million after the airline ran into financial difficulty. In November 2013, the National government sold down its share in Air New Zealand from 73% to 53% as part of its controversial asset sales programme.
Tasman Empire Airways Limited
The airline was established as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) on 26 April 1940. Its first flight was on 30 April 1940, with Short Empire flying boat ZK-AMA Aotearoa carrying ten passengers from Auckland to Sydney. It took around 7 hours 30 minutes to travel the 1,345 miles. TEAL's first annual report, dated 31 March 1941, revealed that 130 trans-Tasman flights had been completed, 174,200 miles flown and 1,461 passengers carried, with a profit of £31,479. During World War II TEAL undertook several special charter and reconnaissance flights to New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii to assist the war effort. In June 1944 TEAL crossed the Tasman Sea for the 1,000th time.
After World War II TEAL re-equipped, initially with Short Sandringham and later with Short Solent flying boats, and a former Royal New Zealand Air Force PBY Catalina also being used for survey flights. TEAL's initial schedule of two weekly flights from Auckland to Sydney was soon expanded with departures from Wellington, and flights to Fiji were also added during the early years. TEAL also supported the 3rd New Zealand expeditionary force to Korea (a.k.a., "Kayforce") between 1953 and 1957 by transporting soldiers and engineers from New Zealand to Iwakuni in Japan.
In 1953 the Australian Government bought 50% of TEAL, with the New Zealand Government buying the rest. In 1954 TEAL added Douglas DC-6s from the defunct British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA) to its fleet, and these replaced the outdated flying boats on most international services. The flying boat services ended in 1960 when Tahiti's airport opened. TEAL operated services between Auckland and Fiji to replace BCPA's service. In 1955 TEAL made its 10,000th trans-Tasman crossing. In 1959 TEAL again changed its fleet, replacing the DC-6s with Lockheed L-188 Electra IIs. The turboprop aircraft was capable of carrying 71 passengers at nearly 400 miles per hour, and reduced the Auckland to Sydney flying time to 3 hours 50 minutes.
In 1961 the New Zealand Government bought the Australian Government's half share, and on 1 April 1965 the airline was renamed Air New Zealand.
First jets
DC-8 On 23 September 1963 Air New Zealand signed a contract with Douglas Aircraft Company to purchase three DC-8-52 jet airliners. The first DC-8 arrived at Auckland on 20 July 1965, coinciding with the opening of Air New Zealand's jet base at the airport. The remaining two DC-8s arrived on 12 August and 22 September of that year and the inaugural jet service was a flight from Christchurch to Sydney on 3 October. The range of the jets enabled Air New Zealand to commence services to the United States and Asia for the first time – on 14 December the first Auckland to Los Angeles service took off, via Nadi and Honolulu. Services from Auckland to Hong Kong via Manila and Singapore followed in early 1966. A service to Tokyo via Nadi started in 1980.
On 4 July 1966, one of the DC-8s was written off when it crashed during a routine training flight at Auckland Airport. While the aircraft was accelerating for takeoff, the number four (outer starboard) engine was throttled back to simulate an engine failure. However, the rapid movement of the throttle level needed to achieve this caused an inertia which resulted in the lever entering the reverse thrust setting. This meant that the airspeed necessary to gain control of the aircraft was never reached, and the starboard wing tip impacted the ground causing the DC-8 to cartwheel along the runway for several hundred yards. Two of the five crew died.
Early in 1968 two more DC-8-52s were ordered, the first arriving on 29 January and the second on 28 February; these had the same seating layout as the earlier planes but had slightly more powerful engines. A sixth DC-8 was leased from United Airlines in November 1970 and purchased in July 1971. A seventh and final DC-8 was purchased from United Airlines, this one in October 1971.
DC-10
Having considered the DC-8 Super Sixties and the Lockheed L-1011, Air New Zealand ordered eight Douglas DC-10-30s, the first of which arrived on 27 January 1973. The DC-10s introduced a new paint scheme, with a koru featuring on the tail in the style of a Maori waka (canoe) stern post instead of the previously displayed Southern Cross; this scheme spread to the DC-8s during 1973.Air New Zealand Australian Transport September 1974 page 7 The longer range of the DC-10 opened up routes to Asia and eliminated the stop at Manila on the Auckland to Hong Kong route in 1975. It also allowed for expanding trans-Pacific services. The first service to Perth was started in 1980.
In 1979 the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 led to a global grounding of all DC-10s, stranding hundreds of passengers on both sides of Air New Zealand's Los Angeles–Auckland route. The airline chartered a Pan Am Boeing 747 to transport stranded passengers and to keep a shuttle service open. The airline's two remaining DC-8s maintained a trans-Tasman shuttle service along with its single international standard equipped Boeing 737-200, ZK-NAR. The decision not to take up NAC's purchase rights of the trans-Tasman capable Boeing 727-200 had come back to haunt the airline. With no DC-8 replacement in sight Air New Zealand began looking for a mid-sized wide bodied jet and ordered the Boeing 767-200ER in 1983.
Merger with NAC
In 1947 a domestic competitor appeared in the form of the Government-owned National Airways Corporation (NAC), formed when the New Zealand government nationalised Union Airways and a number of other smaller operators. NAC was initially equipped with de Havilland Dragon Rapides, de Havilland Fox Moths, Douglas DC-3s, Lockheed Electras and Lockheed Super Electras. In the late 1940s NAC also provided international services to nearby South Pacific countries using converted ex Royal New Zealand Air Force Short Sunderlands. These were later supplemented by de Havilland Herons, Vickers Viscounts, Fokker Friendships and ultimately Boeing 737s. In 1972 NAC purchased a freight subsidiary, Straits Air Freight Express, which operated Bristol Freighters and Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy freighters.
On 1 April 1978 the domestic airline NAC was absorbed into Air New Zealand. Although both airlines had worked closely together during the 1970s, sharing aircraft etc., it was felt that NAC was threatening the airline. Qantas was feeling out a domestic partner in New Zealand and had NAC in its sights. When NAC announced plans to purchase the Boeing 727-200 to increase capacity, and wanted to reapply for some of its Pacific Island routes, Air New Zealand objected and applied pressure to the New Zealand Government that one airline would best serve the nation's interest. The relaunched Air New Zealand used the NAC NZ prefix for domestic flight numbers and the Air New Zealand TEAL TE prefix for international flights until October 1990, when NZ became universal. The order for the Boeing 727-200s was cancelled, and Air New Zealand decided to instead purchase more Boeing 737-200s. It was a decision that would come back to haunt the airline as it would not have a mid-sized aircraft to support the DC-10s when the last DC-8s were due to retire in 1981.
Mount Erebus disaster
On 28 November 1979 Air New Zealand flight 901, a scheduled sightseeing flight over Antarctica, crashed into Mount Erebus. The Douglas DC-10-30 disintegrated on impact killing all 237 passengers aboard as well as the 20 crewmembers. This remains New Zealand's deadliest disaster.
1980s In 1981 Air New Zealand ordered its first wide-bodied Boeing type; the Boeing 747-219 was delivered, starting the replacement of the DC-10s. The DC-10s were leased out, the last service being in 1983, and all were sold by the end of 1986.
In 1982 the first Air New Zealand flight to London in its own right (via Papeete and Los Angeles) took place. Air New Zealand was now a global airline. By 1988, the airline was operating weekly roundtrip Boeing 747 service between Auckland and London via Dallas/Fort Worth.http://www.timetableimages.com, 27 March 1988 Air New Zealand timetable
In 1985 the first Boeing 767-200s were delivered. This type filled the medium range and payload gap vacated by the DC-8 and DC-10s. This allowed the airline to service the trans-Tasman route with a more intensive frequency to the major capitals not allowed by the larger Boeing 747s. Flights to Perth also used the aircraft. The Boeing 767 was also used for main trunk domestic services.
Female cabin crew won an important victory in 1988 when the Equal Opportunities Tribunal declared that the airline was blatantly discriminating against them by denying them equal promotion and pay raise opportunities with their male counterparts. The airline and the union representing the airline employees had been unsympathetic to the females plight – one complaining female steward had her house shot at by an unidentified gunman – but the ruling ensured that the discrminatory practices against the female cabin crew were ended.
Air New Zealand, along with Qantas helped to pioneer Extended range, Twin engine, Operations ETOPS. This allowed use of the efficient Boeing 767 over long range water routes. Originally the 767s were to stay within two hours flying time of an acceptable airport but this extended to three and even four hours. (The ETOPS rating is applied to individual aircraft, not the type in general. Today all twin engine commercial types can be rated to ETOPS standard, usually as part of a 'new aircraft' programme such as the Embraer E-190.)
1989 onwards New ownership and stock-exchange listing In October 1989 the Government of New Zealand privatised Air New Zealand, selling to a consortium headed by Brierley Investments. Brierley retained 65%, with 30% to be sold to the New Zealand public, staff, and institutional investors — Qantas with 19.9%, Japan Airlines 7.5%, American Airlines 7.5%, and a New Zealand Government "Kiwi share" made up the balance. The Kiwi share has special powers to ensure that New Zealanders retain the majority shareholding. In the same year Air New Zealand listed on the New Zealand Exchange.
Newer aircraft In early 1990 Air New Zealand took delivery of its first Boeing 747-400, but industrial action by pilots and cabin crew forced the first aircraft to be leased to Cathay Pacific. The company and its staff had to re-negotiate rates of pay and long hours in the air due to the model's then excellent range before the airliner entered mainline service. The first 747-400 flight finally took place in late 1990.