Air New Zealand established in April, 1940 when Tasman Empire Airway Limited (TEAL), the forerunner, was incorporated. From that time, Air New Zealand has been providing the domestic and international passenger transport and cargo within New Zealand, as well as to and from Australia, the South West Pacific, Asia, North America and the United Kingdom. In April 1965 TEAL was renamed Air New Zealand Limited, and continued operating solely international services.
In March 1999 Air New Zealand became a full member of the Star Alliance group. Beyond the Star Alliance, Air New Zealand has strong commercial partnerships with airlines serving key markets which complement and strengthen Air New Zealand's airline network. These relationships are managed at a bilateral level.
China Flights & International Flights
In September 1996, Air New Zealand announced a conditional agreement to purchase 50% of Ansett Holdings for a total outlay of A$475 million. The purchase was completed in October 1996. Ansett Holdings owned 100% of Ansett Australia (the domestic airline) and 49% of Ansett International.
In February 2000, Air New Zealand announced the conditional purchase of the remaining 50% of Ansett Holdings Limited from News Corporation Limited for A$580m, with a further deferred consideration equivalent to 10.5% of issued capital to be settled between two and four years. The purchase was completed in June 2000 creating a new world top twenty airline.
Air New Zealand is transforming its business to firmly put the customer at the front of all its processes.The domestic business was the first to undergo dramatic transformation.
From November 2002, the way people travelled within New Zealand changed dramatically. The airline remodelled its business to offer substantially lower fares, simplified booking rules, a focus on internet sales and ease of booking, additional seat availability and improved loyalty benefits for frequent flyers.
Short haul international services (Tasman and South Pacific) were next. In October 2003, the concept was extended to Tasman travel. With the move, Air New Zealand became the first airline to introduce everyday, low-cost travel across the Tasman and continued its efforts to encourage more people to travel more often. Pacific routes followed in May 2004.
In June 2004, the addition of 12 Boeing aircraft to the fleet and plans to transform the long-haul flying experience were announced.
The Boeing deal, worth more than $1 billion, will see Air New Zealand acquiring eight new Boeing 777-200ER and four Boeing 7E7 aircraft, as well as rights to acquire a further 46 long-haul aircraft.The aircraft began arriving in October 2005 and will allow Air New Zealand to develop new routes, increase frequency on existing routes and increase both passenger and cargo capacity, while improving efficiency and emission ratings.
In addition to the new long-haul aircraft and in-flight product, Air New Zealand has also launched new international routes.
On June 30 2004 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. Services between Auckland and Niue and Auckland and Adelaide launched in November 2005 and March 2006 respectively.
Alongside ongoing efforts to market New Zealand as a destination to existing markets, Air New Zealand has renewed its focus on growing potential markets and earlier this year opened a sales office in Beijing, China. Direct flights between Auckland and Shanghai are also planned once the necessary regulatory approvals are received.