There was a bit of a walk down memory lane on Air New Zealand's social media pages today with a look back at some of the airline's previous liveries.
For those who aren't familier with the word, the livery of an aircraft is basically the paint job. The stripes on the side, or the picture on the tail.
So, which one has been your favourite? Take a look at the airline's different liveries from each decade and then vote in the special poll at the bottom of the page.
1950s – TEAL Flying Maroro
The inaugural service between Auckland to Sydney took place in 1940, and was flown by a seaplane called Aotearoa. By the late 1950s the airline started moving towards land-based aircraft for its long haul routes.
1960s – TEAL Southern Cross
1965 was the last year Tasman Empire Airways would fly under this name after it was rebranded Air New Zealand following the NZ government taking a 100 percent stake in the airline, buying out shares owned by the Australian government.
1970s – NAC Godwit
The 1970s saw the merger of the National Airways Corporation, the government-owned domestic airline, with Air New Zealand, the government-owned international airline.
The airline also had a new fleet of Boeing 737-200s, after a deal that was seen as a coup for both the airline and for Boeing itself, which had been fiecely competitive in chasing the Air NZ contract. The airline also operated the Fokker F27 Friendship - an aircraft which would go on to become a familiar site across New Zealand through the 80s and 90s.
1980s – Air New Zealand Koru
The 1980's saw Air New Zealand become a truly international airline with investment in modern aircraft such as the Boeing 747-200 and Boeing 767-200.
The airline also began flying to London from Auckland. Although, back then, it took more than one stop in Los Angeles. The route had stopovers in Papeete and Dallas Forth Worth.
The coloured stripes were in a way, a combination of the striped look of NAC, and the Teal colours of Tasman Empire Airways (TEAL)
1990s – Air New Zealand Pacific Wave
The Pacific Wave was launched in 1996, alongside it one of the most memorable Air New Zealand ad campaigns to ever run on television.
The 3-minute-long commercial which included a performance of Pokarekare Ana performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is still talked about to this day.
2010s – Air New Zealand - Black & White Fern
By far the biggest change in the airline's livery history came when the airline revealed aircraft painted entirely black. From there the airline moved away from its previous use of blues and greens to black and white.
The iconic koru remained on the tail, but a new large fern was added to the back of the aircraft. This was origainlly part of a promotional campaign for Tourism NZ, but the fern was kept after positive feedback from the public.
2010s – Air New Zealand - Black Fern
What's next?
Many airlines around the world have brought back retro liveries to celebrate the arrival of new aircraft, or just for a bit of fun. Could we see Air New Zealand do something similar soon?
A 1990s Boeing 787 Dreamliner perhaps?
Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts on the Newshub Travel Facebook group.
For app users, click here to vote in the poll.
