Look out Qantas, Air NZ lands first Dreamliner in ADL

Look out Qantas, Air NZ lands first Dreamliner in ADL
By Hannah Edensor


Well, well, the rivalry between our national carrier, and the Kiwi national carrier that won best brand reputation over Qantas, is back on.

Less than 10 days after Qantas paraded its first brand new Dreamliner around, Air New Zealand’s first scheduled Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner service to Adelaide has touched down.

It comes after the Kiwis poked a bit of fun at Qantas in a Facebook post, congratulating Qantas on their Dreamliner while mentioning they’ve been flying them to Australia for years.

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Landing shortly after 10.30am this morning (local time), the launch heralded a new era of comfort and service for South Australia.

The aircraft is set to become a regular sight in the skies over Adelaide – operating three weekly return services from today through until 25 March 2018.  Dreamliner flights will be complemented by A320 services.

The introduction of the popular aircraft sees the airline increase capacity between Auckland and Adelaide by up to 23 per cent over the peak season.  It also allows the airline to offer its Business Premier and Premium Economy seat products on the route for the first time.

Air New Zealand Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace travelled on the inaugural service along with South Australia’s  Minister for Tourism Hon Leon Bignell, and said today’s flight is another milestone for the airline’s Dreamliner fleet.

“Deploying the aircraft on this route means an enhanced inflight experience for customers travelling between New Zealand and South Australia,” he said.

“Our Boeing 787-9 fleet has proven to be popular with customers since it was first introduced with our distinctive inflight products and features such as larger windows, lower cabin altitude and higher humidity which contribute to a feeling of spaciousness and wellbeing.”

Air New Zealand was the first airline globally to take delivery of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2014 and operated its first scheduled Dreamliner service to Perth on 12 September.

Today the airline has a fleet of 10 Dreamliner aircraft with another due for delivery before the end of the year.

Air New Zealand’s Auckland – Adelaide schedule from 26 October 2017 – 25 March 2018 is as follows:

Flight NumberDepartsArrivesDays of weekAircraft type
NZ191Auckland 8.35amAdelaide 10.40amWeds / Fri / SunBoeing 787-9
NZ791Auckland 8.15amAdelaide 10.40amMon / Tues / and Sat 16 Dec – 27 JanAirbus A320
NZ192Adelaide 11.55amAuckland 6.25pmWeds / Fri / SunBoeing 787-9
NZ792Adelaide 11.40amAuckland 6.25pmMon / Tues / and Sat 16 Dec – 27 JanAirbus A320

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