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Air New Zealand focuses on domestic turboprop operations

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Air New Zealand focuses on domestic turboprop operations
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Air New Zealand | Official Website

Air New Zealand operates a significant portion of its domestic routes using ATR 72-600 and De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 turboprops. The airline, founded in 1965 and part of the Star Alliance, is led by CEO Greg Foran. With a fleet that includes 29 ATRs and 23 Dash 8-300s, Air New Zealand holds the title of the largest operator of the Dash 8-300 globally.

New Zealand's geographical layout, characterized by elongated mountainous islands with scattered population centers, necessitates the use of smaller capacity aircraft like turboprops rather than larger Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 planes. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Air New Zealand's busiest ATR route is between Christchurch and Wellington with a total of 594 flights scheduled for May.

Auckland, home to about 1.7 million people and the country's largest airport, serves as a hub for several other busy routes including those to Hawke's Bay/Napier, Palmerston North Airport, and Nelson. These routes reflect the demand for connectivity across both major cities and regional areas.

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The ATR fleet at Air New Zealand averages an age of just over seven years with additional aircraft on order. The airline has scheduled more than 200 flights on certain routes such as Auckland to Palmerston North (527 flights) and Auckland to Nelson (208 flights).

In addition to these high-frequency routes, there are several others with over 100 flights each month including Christchurch to Dunedin (183 flights), Christchurch to Invercargill (177 flights), Wellington to Hamilton (164 flights), Auckland to Tauranga (150 flights), Christchurch to Hamilton (123 flights), Christchurch to Palmerston North (122 flights), and Auckland to New Plymouth (108 flights).

For less frequent services under 99 frequencies in May, Air New Zealand will operate six additional routes mostly originating from Christchurch. These include destinations like Napier, Tauranga, Queenstown, Rotorua, Nelson from Christchurch; while Dunedin connects with Wellington.

Queenstown Airport stands out due to its challenging location surrounded by mountains making it one of the world's most demanding international airports despite being a popular tourist destination.

As part of its future plans towards sustainability despite missing earlier targets due partly due difficulties noted by BBC regarding efficient planes acquisition; Air New Zealand aims net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century along transitioning regional operations towards electric aircraft starting trials within this year itself.

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