During the peak travel season, Air New Zealand will lease an aircraft.

Air New Zealand leasing plane from Spanish charter airline

Air New Zealand will lease an A330 from Wamos Air for the upcoming peak summer season.

Between November 15, 2022, and February 16, 2023, the plane will be used on Air New Zealand's Auckland to Perth route.

NZ173 Auckland to Perth departing 11:50AM arriving 2:00PM
NZ174 Perth to Auckland departing 6:50PM arriving 6:05AM (+1 day)

There is a block on the 3,323-mile. On this route, Air New Zealand has used a Boeing 797.

Wamos Air Airbus A330-200

Wamos Air will provide the plane and crew, while Air New Zealand will provide the amenities.

Air New Zealand leased a Wamos Air A 330. Most travel restrictions have been lifted in the South Pacific and the airline is expecting a busy summer. The airline wouldn't have any spare planes if there were issues on any other routes.

The Wamos Air A330 is being leased for the Perth route in order to give the airline more flexibility in the event of a problem. Air New Zealand will be able to allocate a spare Boeing 787-9 to other routes, as well as freeing up some crew members to provide greater schedule reliability.

Air New Zealand is learning from the mistakes that have been made by other airlines in other parts of the world.

What is Wamos Air’s Airbus A330 like?

The interior of Wamos Air's A330 is a bit different than what you would find on Air New Zealand's 787-9. The A330 that is being leased by Wamos Air has a total of 280 seats.

There are 20 seats in the business class. All passengers get direct aisle access.

Wamos Air A330 business class cabin
Wamos Air A330 business class cabin

There are 260 seats in the plane's economy class.

Wamos Air A330 economy class cabin

Premium economy won't be offered on this leased A330. Those booked in premium economy will be upgraded to economy and get a $150 voucher. Most of Air New Zealand's planes don't have wi-fi, but the Wamos Air A 330 does.

This leased plane may provide an upgrade over Air New Zealand's subpar business class product, which leaves a lot to be desired.

Air New Zealand 787 business class cabin

Bottom line

The Wamos Air A330 will be used by Air New Zealand for the next few months. The airline will be able to have a spare Boeing 787-9 for other routes because of this. Air New Zealand did a good job in managing its operations.

Wamos Air has a very different inflight experience than Air New Zealand has, but it is not all bad news.

What do you think about Air New Zealand?