Singapore Airlines (Singapore) will introduce the Airbus A380 on the Singapore-Auckland, New Zealand route on October 27 per Airline Route. The flight will operate daily.
Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A380-841 9V-SKJ (msn 045) lands in Zurich.
Singapore Airlines:
Fiji Airways Group (Fiji Airways and Fiji Link) (Suva, Fiji) reported its unaudited interim results for the first half of 2014, announcing a massive increase in operating profits compared with the corresponding period last year. The Group, legally known as Air Pacific Limited, comprises of Fiji Airways (Fiji’s National Airline), its subsidiary Fiji Link and a 38.75% stake in the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island. The Group recorded an underlying operating profit of $17.2 million FJD ($9.3 million US) from January 1 to June 30, 2014.
Stefan Pichler, Managing Director and CEO attributed the strong performance to higher load factors, more efficient cost management, streamlined management structures and a highly motivated staff.
Fiji Airways’ load factor increased by 10 percent in the first six months.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 DQ-FJV (msn 1465) touches down in Auckland.
Fiji Airways Slide Show: CLICK HERE
Fiji Airways (2nd) (Nadi) and Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi), the national airlines of Fiji and the United Arab Emirates, respectively, announced a new and far reaching interline agreement between the two carriers.
This agreement will allow reciprocal sales from and to 12 cities in Europe, 17 cities in the Middle East, five cities in Africa, five cities in North America, 29 cities in Asia and three cities in Australia to and from Fiji. The agreement is effective immediately and is the starting point of further negotiations between the two airlines.
Etihad Airways joins Fiji Airways’ list of codeshare or interline partners, which includes American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, QANTAS Airways and Air New Zealand.
On the financial side, Air Pacific Group reported an operating profit before income tax of $14.2 million for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2013, compared to an operating profit before income tax of $22.4 million for the preceding twelve month period ended March 31, 2013.
On a net basis, the Group reported an after tax profit of $14.5 million for the nine months period compared to $17.8 million from the preceding 12-month period. The nine months performance was driven by an increase in passenger numbers by 2.5 % with an additional revenue of 1.0%, hence a slight yield decrease of -1.5 % due to the relentless competitive environment, especially from/to the U.S. and Australia.
All amounts are in Fijian dollars.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 DQ-FJT (msn 1394) of Fiji Airways arrives in Auckland.
Fiji Airways:ย 
Etihad Airways:ย
Air New Zealand (Auckland) has done it again. The champion of promotion today launched it latest Hobbit-theme aircraft, this time with Smaug, the dragon, emblazoned on Boeing 777-319 ER ZK-OKO (msn 38407) (above) now flying to Los Angeles for the movie premier.
The airline issued this statement:
The Official Airline of Middle-earth today announced the key elements of its global marketing campaign two weeks ahead of the premiere of the second film in The Hobbit Trilogy, which is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.
A key feature of the airlineโs campaign, titled Middle-earth is closer than you think, is a competition to give three Hobbit movie fans from around the world the money-canโt-buy opportunity to attend the world premiere movie screening with a friend. A fourth lucky entrant will win a once-in-a-life-time Middle-earth experience for two in New Zealand.
The video Just Another Day in Middle-earth stars Airย Newย Zealand flight attendants, pilots, aircraft engineers, an aircraft marshall, baggage handlers and airport staff as themselves, with a cheeky film-inspired twist, and more than 120 extras. It aims to inspire travellers from around the world to take their own unexpected journey โ with the key message โMiddle-earth is closer than you thinkโ.
The video also features Kiwi Dean OโGorman, who plays dwarf Fili, and the voice of Sylvester McCoy, The Hobbit Trilogyโs Radagast the Brown.
Dean OโGorman says the video captures both the magic of The Hobbit films and the unique personality of Airย Newย Zealand.
โThe cast and crew have been travelling to New Zealand so much over the past few years the airlineโs become like a second home to some of them and they just love the uniquely Kiwi service. It was great to be involved in this video and see so many Airย Newย Zealand staff having a bit of fun with all the Hobbit film references.โ
Viewers of the video from around the world can enter for their chance to win one of four trips of a lifetime for two to their choice of either Middle-earth (New Zealand) or to the premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in Los Angeles, including airfares, accommodation and rental car.
Another feature of the Airย Newย Zealand marketing campaign will be the unveiling of a Boeing 777-300 aircraft in special Hobbit film-inspired livery on December 2 in Auckland (see above). The flying billboard will leave that night for Los Angeles where it will touch down in time for the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug premiere.
Head of Global Brand Development Jodi Williams says there is a common perception that New Zealand is tucked away at the bottom of the earth and the perceived distance barrier stops some travellers considering the country as a destination.
โFor travellers from the majority of Airย Newย Zealandโs long haul destinations, including Shanghai, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Tokyo, Middle-earth is just a sleep away.โ
Tourism New Zealand figures from last yearโs marketing activity around The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey show 82 percent of international survey respondents stated the campaign increased their interest in New Zealand. 8.5 percent of international visitors to New Zealand during January-March this year said The Hobbit Trilogy was a factor in stimulating their interest in New Zealand and one percent said it was the most important factor.
Fromย Academy Awardยฎ-winning filmmakerย Peter Jackson, director of โThe Lord of the Ringsโ Trilogy, comes โThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.โย Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, with Martin Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield.ย The international ensemble cast is led by Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas.ย The film also stars Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner, Dean OโGorman, Graham McTavish, Adam Brown, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Ryan Gage, John Bell, Manu Bennett and Lawrence Makoare.
The screenplay for โThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugโ is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson also produced the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh. The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, โThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.โย The film is a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), with New Line managing production.ย Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.ย www.thehobbit.com
Copyright Photos: Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand (see the other special theme aircraft):ย 
Videos:
Air New Zealand (Auckland) is planning to operate a demonstration flight to the Pegasus ice runway near the McMurdo Station in Antarctica on October 5 per Wired Magazine. ANZ will operate a Boeing 767-300 to the ice runway. Currently the United States Air Force (using C-17S) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (using a Boeing 757) operate regular flights to the station, mainly during the Southern Hemisphere summer. If feasible, the airline will operate charter flights to the southern continent.
Air New Zealand has a long history with Antarctica. ย In the 1970s the company operated sightseeing charter flights to the continent the overflew the rugged terrain. Tragically on November 29, 1979 while operating flight NZ 901, DC-10-30 ZK-NZP (msn 46910) with 257 passengers and crew members on board crashed into Mount Erebus killing all on board.
Read the full article: CLICK HERE
Meanwhile on the livery front, following the announcement onย June 12, 2013, Air New Zealand, in cooperationย with the national tourism agency,ย Tourism New Zealand, is going to the pictured “New Zealand Fern Mark” as the airline’s official color scheme to also promote tourism to the nation.
As previously reported, there will be two livery versions. The first features a white fuselage with a black strip running diagonally on the rear fuselage from the tail, adorned with the iconic koru logo in white. The black and white “New Zealand Fern Mark” is vividly displayed on the fuselage. This livery will be used on most of the fleet. A few aircraft will be painted in a distinctive all black livery with the fern mark in silver.ย The first to display the new look, the pictured Airbus A320-232 ZK-OXB (msn 5682), was rolled out of the paint shop on September 24, 2013.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com. ZK-OXB is captured beautifully on the taxiway at the Auckland hub.
Have you seen the “new look” AirlinersGallery.com photo library?
Hot New Photos:ย 
Air New Zealand:ย 
Air New Zealand (Auckland) has issued this statement its new partnership with Tourism New Zealand:
Airย Newย Zealand has unveiled its new aircraft livery which features the iconic official New Zealand Fern Mark, the use of which is managed by Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Under the MOU, Airย Newย Zealand and Tourism New Zealand will each invest more than $10 million over the next 12 months in co-operative marketing activity in the key markets of Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, North America, the United Kingdom and Europe as well as increased activity in emerging markets such as India and Indonesia.
Airย Newย Zealand and Tourism New Zealand have a strong track record of working together to market New Zealand as a destination. Recent collaboration includes high profile leverage activity to market New Zealand in association with The Hobbit trilogy; joint advertising campaigns in Australia, Japan, China, North America and Europe, hosting over 180 international media to New Zealand and activity to educate the trade on New Zealand including a recent familiarisation for 140 travel agents from North America, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Over the next 12 months, the organizations will continue to jointly promote New Zealand to travellers through advertising, PR activity, working closely with trade partners and on campaigns that actively target business events.
In the coming year, Airย Newย Zealand will also introduce its new aircraft livery which features the iconic New Zealand Fern Mark.
โWe are delighted to reveal our new aircraft livery which would not have been possible without the support of Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. The new-look livery is distinctive and iconic and we believe will inspire a sense of pride in New Zealanders,โ says Mr Luxon.
The livery design process involved extensive consumer testing including focus groups both in New Zealand and offshore. A clear preference was established for the New Zealand Way Fern Mark to be incorporated into the design with 78 per cent of those surveyed believing it fits with the Airย Newย Zealand brand and represented New Zealand.
The new livery will be progressively rolled out across the Airย Newย Zealand fleet from later this year. The majority of the airlineโs fleet will eventually feature the white version of the new livery and a limited number will feature the distinctive black version of the new design (see new Boeing 787-9s designs below).
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Poll: Do you like the new two-version “Black Fern” livery?
Top Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Air New Zealand). The new fern livery reminds us of the special All Blacks-Crazy About Rugby livery worn by this Airbus A320. A320-232 OAB (msn 4553) arrives back at Auckland.
Air New Zealand:ย 
Air New Zealand (Auckland) has entered into an agreement to acquire a further three percent of the shares of Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane), taking its interest to 22.99 percent.
The company issued this statement:
The agreement is subject to customary Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) conditions and Airย Newย Zealand has filed the required Substantial Shareholder Notice.
Airย Newย Zealand will consider acquiring up to a further 3% of the shares in Virgin Australia, to the extent it is permitted to do so under the Australian Corporations Act, and has made an application to FIRB on that basis.
As part of its usual process, FIRB seeks the views of the ACCC on any competition related issues. The ACCC has advised Airย Newย Zealand that it intends to conduct public enquiries to enable it to form a view in relation to these potential shareholdings.
The additional interest affirms Airย Newย Zealandโs strong belief and confidence in Virgin Australia and the strategy it is pursuing under the leadership of John Borghetti and his team.
Airย Newย Zealand is not seeking a position on the Board of Virgin Australia nor does it have the intention of obtaining control of Virgin Australia.
Top Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Air New Zealand). As planned, Air New Zealand is going to this very simplistic black and white “color scheme”. The airline is now promoting its new look. The first Airbus A320 to be repainted is the pictured A320-232 ZK-OJQ (msn 4584) pictured departing from the Auckland hub. In the past ANZ has had very colorful liveries (please click on the Slide Show below for a history of ANZ color schemes).
Air New Zealand:ย
Virgin Australia:ย
Video: An unusual Airbus A320 Safety Video:
Air New Zealand (Auckland) is further reducing the “color” in its “color scheme”. According to this report by the airline via its “The Flying Social Network”, the flag carrier will remove its blue and turquoise tail combination next year to a very unexciting black tail with its traditional white Koru logo. The black titles are being updated with a new font style. The rest of fuselage is a boring all-white.
Current logo:
Read the full story: CLICK HERE
Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Air New Zealand has been gradually reducing “color” in its livery with each change. The most recent change was to remove the “Pacific Wave” fuselage accent marks from the original 1996 color scheme. Previously the 1996 color scheme update had removed the blue and turquoise fuselage cheat lines of the more colorful 1973 livery. Boeing 747-475 ZK-SUH arrives at Los Angeles in the basic 1996 livery minus the Pacific Wave fuselage marks which were removed in 2008.
Air New Zealand:ย 
View the 1973 livery: CLICK HERE
Bottom Copyright Photo: Micheil Keegan. Did the special All Blacks color scheme influence the carrier to go a very basic black and white livery? Airbus A320-232 ZK-OAB (msn 4553) arrives at Auckland.
Air New Zealand (Auckland) has added an additional “15 Years” logo to its Airbus A320 Star Alliance logojet.
On May 14, 1997, five airlines, namely United Airlines,ย Lufthansa,ย Air Canada,ย Thai Airways Internationalย andย Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)ย launched the Star Alliance.
The five airlines adopted the traditional five-pointed star logo to represent the five founding airlines.
Air New Zealand joined the alliance in March of 1999.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter. Airbus A320-232 ZK-OJH (msn 2257) completes its final approach into Auckland with the additional markings.
Hot New Photos:ย 
Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires) as planned, dropped the Auckland, New Zealand stop and started flying the Buenos Aires-Sydney route as a nonstop route via Antarctica three days a week on July 1.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter. Airbus A340-313X LV-CSE (msn 126) climbs away from AKL boundย for Sydney and the last time at Auckland during daylight. LV-CSE returned later in the day after dark for its final flight via Auckland to Buenos Aires.
Aerolineas Argentinas:ย 
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