Grounded Aircraft At Air New Zealand

Grounded next-generation aircraft at Air New Zealand are likely to remain a problem for years to come.

In the airline’s 2025 annual results, it shared an outlook that suggests the pressure will slowly ease over the next two years, but not without its operational challenges.

The business now finds itself in a position where it needs to actively manage the grounding of aircraft that are being impacted by global engine maintenance delays.

Up to 11 aircraft will remain grounded throughout 2025 from the 60-jet fleet, with the Boeing 787 and A320neo family fleets being affected, both of which are crucial in different regards.

Currently, Air New Zealand has experienced a higher number of groundings for its narrow-body fleet. Still, with the widebody aircraft from the Dreamliner series closely following behind, it’s expected that by the first half of 2026, the grounding figures will become more even.

If all were to pan out as intended, the carrier estimates that 9 to 10 aircraft will still be grounded during the first half of 2026, with the split being directly identical for the single-aisle and wide-body jets.

What Is Air New Zealand Doing?

Despite this, and the evident frustrations, Air New Zealand confirmed it was continuing with iniaitives to try and mitigate the impact on its day-to-day operation.

For example, two leased Airbus A321neo jets have arrived, with a 12-year lease for these planes, which will help alleviate some of the pressure on the short- to medium-haul network.

Additionally, Air New Zealand is investing in four additional short-term leased engines to enable more flying on its A320neo family, which brings the pool of spare engines up to 19.

Other tactics include the schedule adjustments across the network, which have been forced to reflect the changing forecasting surrounding the availability of engines.

Air New Zealand also states that it has been renegotiating compensation terms with both Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, driven by the significant impact on both operational and financial levels.

While struggles with grounding have been more than present, equally so has been the ability to source required spare engines and aircraft on lease to cover lost capacity.

For example, passengers flown across the network dropped by 3% and ASKs were also down 4%, with 11 aircraft grounded, which was a continued reason for the perfromance being arguably not as strong as it could’ve been.

Air New Zealand are hardly the only airline to be battling something similar, making it all the more challenging to implement mitigation tactics when others are attempting to do the very same, especially with only so many spare engines and aircraft available to cover.

While the number of available aircraft is expected to grow over time, it’s not until 2028 that Air New Zealand anticipates a full recovery in capacity, primarily aided by new deliveries, particularly the 787 with a new batch.

What Does The Future Hold For Air New Zealand?

With the challenges of maintaining an active fleet in mind, Air New Zealand remains optimistic about the progress it’ll be able to make in the coming years, with numerous exciting endeavours in the process of being completed or expected.

An ongoing retrofit program for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet will provide the cabins of these aircraft with a much-needed refresh, with completion expected by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, from early 2027, the business will send its first Boeing 777-300ER for a cabin refresh to extend the life of the jets in the fleet beyond expectations.

Air New Zealand had previously announced its intention to rapidly transition to operating only the Boeing 787 for wide-body flying; however, driven by delays and reliability constraints, the 777 has proven to be adequate cover and will continue to be used.