Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) will revert back to wet leasing an A330-200 from Wamos Air (EB, Madrid Barajas) to operate on the Auckland - Perth International city pair between February 9 and April 30, 2024. The aircraft plugs a capacity gap caused by Pratt & Whitney engine issues. The Spanish ACMI/charter specialist had operated on behalf of Air New Zealand on the route for most of 2023.
"As Air New Zealand prepares some of its fleet to undergo maintenance next year due to global engine maintenance issues, which several airlines around the world are facing, the airline will be re-entering a temporary lease agreement with Wamos Air to help get customers to where they need to be," reads a statement issued by the airline this week. "Enlisting the help of Wamos Air will ensure that there’s extra flexibility in the operation due to the extra maintenance requirements and for any unexpected challenges or other disruptions beyond the airline’s control. This is a temporary, proactive measure to help protect our customers’ travel plans."
Under the current schedule, it takes almost 16 hours to work the 10,700-kilometre roundtrip flight to Perth, including two hours on the ground at that airport. Wamos had operated the A330-200 on the sector across the 12 months to October 28, 2023, when Air New Zealand redeployed one of its B787-9s back onto the route. That decision followed the induction of a B777-300ER from Air Lease Corporation on a three-year operating lease. However, the airline continues to experience a shortage of widebody capacity while it awaits the delivery of two more B787-9s and six B787-10s from Boeing (BOE, Washington National).
Exacerbating the capacity problem, Air New Zealand also expects several of its A320neo to temporarily cease operations over the coming months for engine removals and inspections following Pratt & Whitney's worldwide geared turbofan engine recall notice. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran has previously said the carrier would need to adjust schedules and potentially put some widebodies onto routes normally operated by A320neo Family aircraft. Foran said Air New Zealand is also looking to lease additional aircraft to provide certainty around
