Latest Features

In the mid-1960s, New Zealand’s National Airways Corporation (NAC) was looking for a replacement for its Vickers Viscounts on its main trunk domestic routes. The jet age had arrived and, as the company’s report stated, its aim was: “To select a modern long-life aircraft which is best suited to the route structure in New Zealand with the best economic performance and potential for the next 20 years.”

NAC completed an extensive study, first test flying the Douglas DC-9 in California, then, as the Boeing 737 had yet to fly, NAC’s pilots flew the 727, which had the same fuselage cross-section and a similar flight deck, albeit with an engineer’s station. Then it was across the Atlantic to evaluate the British BAC One-Eleven and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle.

Even though the B737 was yet to fly, after evaluating the types on offer, NAC was convinced that this aircraft had the qualities they required. Unfortunately, the government at the time was not so convinced. Cabinet rejected the purchase and the airline management was instructed to “re-look” at its decision. It was common knowledge that pressure was being applied by the British Government to purchase the BAC One-Eleven.

New Zealand’s parliament sits in Wellington, so it was somewhat ironic that it was Wellington airport, and its surrounding terrain and notoriously strong, gusty winds, that were pivotal in the decision to select the 737. This was because the chosen aircraft had to be capable of taking off with a full load from Wellington’s northerly runway (34) on a hot and gusty day, suffer an engine failure at V1 (decision point-takeoff continued) and fly a right-hand circuit (known as the harbour circuit) to re-land. The Boeing 737 was a clear winner in this regard. The early model DC-9s lacked wing leading edge devices, which severely compromised their performance in this area; Douglas knew it and backed off their marketing of the DC-9 to NAC. BAC’s One-Eleven suffered from the same design limitation and was no match for the Boeing’s performance-and it was a smaller aircraft; NAC would have had to purchase four BAC One-Eleven aircraft to do the job of three Boeing 737-200s. Desperate, BAC slashed the price of the One-Eleven and played the now infamous “buy British” political card. The NAC board stood firm on its commercially driven, objective decision to purchase the Boeing product and, despite extensive lobbying from the British, the BAC bid was unsuccessful.

Given the political culture of the time and New Zealand’s strong ties to Britain, NAC’s stand was bold and could be described as somewhat courageous. Finally, in May 1967, the government gave NAC approval to purchase three Boeing 737-200 aircraft with delivery scheduled for the following year. Purchase price for these first three aircraft was NZ$3,134,891 each.

Lead-in time was relatively short by today’s standards, particularly given the dramatic change in technology about to be introduced. With the purchase approved less than 12 months earlier, training for NAC pilots and engineers commenced at the Boeing facility in Seattle in March 1968.

At home in New Zealand, buildings had to be modified, ground handling equipment improved and ground handling procedures further streamlined to cope with more passengers and a larger “state of the art” aircraft. In effect, NAC virtually had to re-invent the way it did business.

The first flight of the Boeing 737 prototype took place on 9 April 1967, and it wasn’t until July of that year that NAC got the chance to fly the aircraft and thus confirm its purchase of the type. Little more than a month later, on the 30th August, NAC’s first Boeing 737-200-appropriately registered ZK-NAC-was handed over to the airline at Boeing’s Seattle facility.

The delivery of the first two aircraft didn’t go entirely without a hitch. ZK-NAC was just a few hours into its delivery flight when it encountered light turbulence and began to porpoise (become unstable). The problem was quickly traced to a poorly secured 2,000-gallon bladder tank installed in the cabin of the aircraft for the ferry flight. As fuel was being consumed from the tank, the straps had become increasingly slack, allowing movement. Once these had been secured, the aircraft settled and the flight was continued with the straps being progressively tightened as the tank emptied.

On the 18th of September, ZK-NAC arrived in Wellington at the end of its long ferry flight, having set a distance record for the type on the Honolulu-Nadi leg. A welcoming committee led by NAC’s Chairman, Alan Gilkison, was there to greet the arrival. One can imagine Mr Gilkison’s surprise when the pride of New Zealand’s National Airways Corporation’s fleet came to a stop in front of where he was waiting, with an Australian flag emblazoned on the tail above NAC’s “Godwit” emblem! Obviously, those at Boeing who applied the livery had been confused between the New Zealand and Australian flags-an easy mistake to make if one is not from these parts; so easy, in fact, that no one had noticed prior to its arrival in New Zealand!

Two weeks later, ZK-NAD began its long journey to its new Southern Hemisphere home, only to have to return-for an overweight landing-shortly after takeoff when the aircraft began filling with smoke. The problem was soon traced to a rag that had been inadvertently left in the air conditioning system!

ZK-NAE had more success with an uneventful ferry flight and arrived in New Zealand in the second week of October.

Jet Travel Arrives

ZK-NAC had been scheduled to fly the inaugural Boeing 737 service on 14 October 1968. However, although this remained the official inauguration, the aircraft was actually pressed into service on 7 October to operate one sector, replacing a Vickers Viscount.

It is easy to lose sight of just how “cutting edge” the introduction of the Boeing 737 was at this time. It was an entirely new aircraft and concept for everyone involved: aircrew, engineers, ground staff and passengers. Remember-this was an airline that was still operating DC-3s on scheduled passenger services!

Wide Body Luxury
While certainly not “wide-body” by today’s standards, in 1968, it didn’t get much better than this. The B737 boasted the same “wide-body” fuselage as the B707, 720 and 727 (indeed, the fuselage was constructed on the same jigs); the aircraft was heralded as the latest in luxury and speedy travel.

NAC’s initial configuration incorporated just 90 seats; well short of the design capacity of 115 seats. The airline initially adopted a five-abreast layout with a guarantee that the person seated in the middle on the three abreast side got a wider seat for extra comfort-20 inches versus 18.87 inches for the other seats. The airline also boasted in its early publications that the B737’s “aerolastic” (a word not found in the Oxford Dictionary!) wing was akin to that of larger aircraft-designed to give a smooth ride in turbulent air.

Boeing’s First Two-Crew Flightdeck

Incorporating the latest technology of the time, the 737 was Boeing’s first two-crew jet flight deck (the others had a flight engineer) and although this complement was deemed safe by the FAA and most of the world’s airlines, including NAC, three airlines in the United States (American Airlines, United and Western), under pressure from the pilot union, operated the aircraft with three pilots until as recently as 1982.

NAC Merges With Air New Zealand

NAC had operated a total of nine Boeing 737 aircraft by the time the airline merged with Air New Zealand in March 1978. A few years earlier, NAC’s livery-a white upper fuselage with a red cheat line and polished underbelly, with the migrating “godwit” bird on the tail-had given way to the red and orange “boiled lolly” livery. Now, with the merger, the trademark godwit vanished altogether, replaced by the koru, and blue and teal replaced the red and orange.

Over the succeeding years, the fleet numbers-with some fluctuations-slowly continued to grow. A ninth B737-200 (ZK-NAR), which joined the fleet in October 1978, was the first to be delivered in Air New Zealand’s full livery. A tenth aircraft arrived in 1980 and then, in 1982, a B737-200QC convertible freighter joined the fleet-appropriately registered ZK-NQC. This became the highest utilised B737-200 in the Air New Zealand fleet. It flew passengers by day and made up to two return trips a night between Auckland and Christchurch with the seats removed and containers rolled in through the large freight door on the port side, forward of the wing. Long since retired from the Air New Zealand fleet, this aircraft can still be seen hard at work during the wee small hours flying for New Zealand Post between Auckland and Christchurch. This aircraft completed 25 years of service in New Zealand skies last December.

In 1986, Air New Zealand underwent a major modernisation of its B737-200 fleet when it took delivery of six new -200 aircraft from Boeing, allowing the disposal of some of the older airframes, including the original three: ZK-NAC, NAD and NAE. Although the 737-300 was already in production by then, Air New Zealand preferred the -200 for its superior short field performance. At the time, of the six shortest runways believed to be used for regular scheduled B737 passenger operations around the world, three of them were on Air New Zealand’s network; airports at Napier, Queenstown and Rotorua had runways little more than 1,300 metres long.

The B737-200s weren’t just limited to domestic operations either; they were regular visitors to Hobart, Noumea, Tonga and Norfolk Island, and in 1995 began operating the now regular trans-Tasman “ski flights” into Queenstown from Sydney and Brisbane.

The “Classics” Replace the “Originals”

The -100 and -200 models are now referred to as “Original”, the -300/400/500s as “Classic”, and the -600/700 and 800 as “Next-Generation” (NG) models. By the late 1990s, it was time for Air New Zealand to replace its B737-200 “Originals”. By this time, even though NG models were becoming available, Air New Zealand chose the “Classic” 737-300. No doubt price was a major factor, but also it could be said that the -300 best suited the network. The first B737-300-ZK-NGA-arrived in February 1998 and, by early August of that year, the airline had three “Classics” in service. The aircraft were used both domestically and on regular trans-Tasman services from Christchurch and Wellington to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

As the numbers of -300s increased, the -200s were gradually phased out. ZK-NAB was the last -200 and on 17 December 2001, its final Auckland-Christchurch sector ended Air New Zealand’s 33 year association with the “Original”.

With the arrival of the Airbus A320 on the scene in 2003, it was thought that the number of B737-300s would be reduced. Although there was an initial reduction, the fleet soon began to grow again as new initiatives directed at market growth took effect and demand for travel rose. Such has been the increase in air travel and the success of the B737-300 that the fleet is now larger than ever and currently numbers 16, with the latest two additions having only arrived earlier this year. The fleet ranges far and wide and, as well as being seen at all of New Zealand’s major airports, flies internationally as far afield as Apia in the Pacific.

An Honest Hard Worker

The Boeing 737 is arguably the hardest working type in the Air New Zealand fleet-certainly in terms of sectors, where an aircraft can operate six to ten domestic sectors a day, then head up to the Pacific Islands at night, returning in time to pick up the domestic schedule the next morning.

Whether battling Wellington’s infamous breeze, weathering tropical storms in the Pacific or mastering Queenstown’s challenging terrain, the Boeing 737 is a battler; it gets the job done without fuss or glamour. When it comes to commercial jet airliners, it is arguably the last of the “pilots’ aeroplanes”.

The average age of Air New Zealand’s Boeing 737-300 fleet is 10.7 years; barely middle-aged in airliner terms. In fact, Air New Zealand operates the very last Boeing 737-300 produced by Boeing; ZK-NGJ only left the factory in December 1999.

The airline’s B737 fleet currently operates an average of more than 680 sectors a week or almost 100 sectors a day (maintenance requirements make it unlikely that all 16 aircraft are in service on any given day). Sector lengths range from the shortest 165 nm Christchurch-Wellington hop to the 1,560 nm run from Auckland to Samoa.

The fleet now clocks up more than 12,000,000 nm a year across more than 35,500 sectors.

Forty years on, and with little doubt that the type will reach the big “five-oh” in global service, the Boeing 737 family remains the most successful jet aircraft in history. It would appear that the NAC board’s bold decision back in 1967 has been well and truly vindicated.

The “Originals”-Where Are They Now?

NAC’s first B737 ZK-NAC (C/N 19929) provided almost 18 years of loyal service with NAC and Air New Zealand. Having accumulated over 36 000 flying hours with the airline, it was retired from Air New Zealand service in March 1986. It was sold initially to Presidential Airways in the United States and it continued operating until 1990, when it was placed into storage in the Mohave Desert. Sadly, this historic aircraft was broken up in 1992.

ZK-NAD (C/N 19930) entered service with NAC on 14 October 1968 and served with the airline until January 1986. It also accumulated over 36 000 flying hours with Air New Zealand and also joined the Presidential Airways fleet in the United States. It, too, was placed into storage in 1990, this time at Maxton in North Carolina, where the latest information available would indicate it is still parked.

ZK-NAE (C/N 19931) arrived in New Zealand on 13 October 1968. While it was put into service over Labour Weekend that year, it didn’t officially enter service until 20 December 1968 (having been used in the intervening period to train flight crew). This aircraft also operated with the airline (NAC/Air New Zealand) for over 19 years and accumulated more than 36,000 hours before being sold offshore. The aircraft went to the United States where it went into service with AirCal. It has since met the same fate as ZK-NAC and been broken up.

So, sadly, only ZK-NAD remains-and its days, also, must surely be numbered. This is a historic aircraft that played an integral part in the development of New Zealand aviation and it would be nice to think that it could be saved from the scrapper’s torch.

NAC/Air New Zealand Boeing 737 Facts and Milestones

NAC’s first B737 made its first flight at Seattle on 20 August 1968 and was officially handed over to the airline on 30 August.

ZK-NAC flew its inaugural flight from Auckland to Wellington on 1 October 1968, albeit unofficially; the jet-age had arrived for New Zealand domestic travellers. The official inaugural service took place at 0800 hrs on 14 October when ZK-NAD operated National 421 from Auckland to Wellington. ZK-NAC departed Christchurch at 0910 hrs as National 444 bound for Wellington and Auckland.

NAC was the first airline in the world outside the USA and Europe to operate the B737.

The last NAC Boeing 737 service was National 443 from Wellington to Auckland, arriving at 10:35pm on 31 March 1978.

By the end of 2002, the last of the B737-200s had departed New Zealand soil (with the exception of ZK-NQC, which still soldiers on with NZ Post/Airwork).

The NAC/Air New Zealand B737-200 fleet made over 825,000 flights during its 33 years with the airline.

The Air New Zealand Boeing 737 fleet currently numbers 16. Average age is 10.7 years.

Air New Zealand currently operates the last Boeing 737-300 “Classic” produced-ZK-NGJ, which is younger than some NGs.

NAC/Air New Zealand has operated more than 50 different 737s during the type’s 40-year history with the company.

The NAC/Air New Zealand 737 fleet has carried more than 80 million passengers.

Each year, Air New Zealand’s current fleet of 737-300 aircraft operates more than 35,500 sectors, flies over 12 million nautical miles and carries approximately 3.8 million passengers-equivalent to almost the entire population of New Zealand.

BOEING 737 FACTS

The Boeing 737 family is the best selling commercial jet in history, with orders for more than 8,000 aircraft

The Boeing 737 represents more than a quarter of the total worldwide fleet of large commercial jets flying today.

There are more than 541 operators of Boeing 737s worldwide.

Boeing 737s operate into more than 1,200 cities in more than 190 countries.

On average, at any given time, there are about 1,250 Boeing 737s in the air.

Around the world, a B737 takes off or lands every 4.6 seconds.

Since entering service in 1968, the world’s B737 fleet has flown more than 75 billion miles and accumulated more than 296 million hours of revenue service; this is equivalent to 33,789 years of continuous service.

The world’s B737 fleet has made more than 232 million flights and carried more than 12 billion passengers.

There were 1,114 B737-200 aircraft produced. The last was delivered in August, 1988.

There were 1,002 B737-300 aircraft produced, the last of which was delivered in December 1999.