Boeing 787 Dreamliner to touch down in Auckland On Saturday

Boeing 787 Dreamliner to touch down in Auckland this Saturday

The Boeing 787 will touch down in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time on Saturday morning 12 November at Auckland International Airport.

Air New Zealand's Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan will be onboard the 787-8 test aircraft, joining more than 30 Boeing staff testing the aircraft's performance as it makes its journey non-stop from Seattle's Boeing Field Airport.

Air New Zealand is hosting the aircraft at its engineering base at Auckland Airport for two days.

The aircraft's flight path over Auckland will depend on weather and wind conditions on the day but its arrival at Auckland Airport is expected at approximately 10am.

Expected flight path if landing on runway 23L to the southwest: The aircraft will approach Auckland from the northeast over Browns Bay at approximately 9.50am before tracking to Whenuapai then turning left to fly at lower altitude over the harbour bridge and past the eastern beaches before turning right for a normal approach over Manukau City to Auckland International Airport.

Expected flight path if landing on runway 05R to the northeast: The aircraft will approach Auckland from the northeast between Waiheke Island and Motutapu Island at approximately 9.50am, turn right over Browns Island and fly at lower altitude down the harbour over the harbour bridge towards Te Atatu before turning left for a normal approach over the Manukau Heads towards Auckland International Airport.

For those wanting to see the aircraft leave for Sydney on Tuesday 15 November, the aircraft has a planned departure time of 10am that day.

The 787 aircraft coming to Auckland is the first test aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the cabin interior is fitted only with test equipment.

Branded the "Dreamliner" by Boeing, the structure of the 787 aircraft makes significant use of lightweight high-tech composite materials to deliver operating efficiencies and customer comfort, including higher humidity levels and a more comfortable, lower cabin altitude.

Ends

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, British Midland International, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries.

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