Air New Zealand's fleet of Boeing 767s is set for a
multi-million dollar makeover in a bid to increase performance and
cut fuel consumption.
The planes will be refit with radical new winglets, the largest
ever installed on commercial aircraft.
It's the mother of all winglets, designed for a jumbo. And while the four-metre version never made it into production, Air New Zealand's chief pilot Dave Morgan wants them on all the airline's jets.
"The shape of the winglet reduces the drag, we get more lift," says Morgan.
Fitting 3.4 metre winglets to the fleet of five 767s promises big returns.
"We're looking at six-and-a-half million litres of fuel saved on an annual basis," says Morgan.
Staff at Air New Zealand's Auckland engineering base are already measuring up for the retrofit which involves cutting into and strengthening the wings.
The benefits of the winglets are not just about saving fuel. They also make for faster takeoffs with less noise and they can increase the resale value of the aircraft they're fitted to.
They might cost almost $4 million to install but airlines worldwide can't get enough of them.
"When they get a payback in three-and-a-half years, it continues to pay itself for 20 years. It's an easier decision for them to make," says Craig McCallum of Aviation Partners Boeing.
And Air New Zealand has also decided to install new Swedish
dryers in all 42 of its jet aircraft.
They will remove up to 400 kilograms of moisture from the floors
and ceilings of aircraft and reduce fuel costs even further.
"They want to do something for the environment, and that warms
the heart of a Swedish person because we are of the same thinking
in Scandinavia," says Torbjorn Johansson, CTT Systems
president.
Air New Zealand insists that it will not mean even flights, just
more comfortable ones.
