Air New Zealand to lease Wamos Air A330 once again
Previously, Air New Zealand turned to Spanish carrier, Wamos Air to lease a single A330 to keep up with demand and avoid cancellations. However, this aircraft recently said “adiós” to Air New Zealand, heading back to Spain in October. After just one month though, our national airline confirmed that it will return early next year.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
Air New Zealand previously leased a Wamos Air A330-200. The aircraft was set to be leased from November 15th 2022 until February 17th. However, the lease was extended until October 29th 2023.
Wamos concluded its lease agreement for the Auckland-Perth route in October. However, it is set to return next year amid Air NZ's challenges in dealing with ongoing worldwide maintenance checks on engines.
Jeremy O’Brien, the general manager of Air New Zealand, described the new arrangement as a "proactive and temporary measure, allowing us to prevent significant flight cancellations while we conduct additional aircraft maintenance in early 2024."
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
“As Air New Zealand prepares for some of its fleet to undergo maintenance next year due to global engine maintenance issues, which a number of airlines around the world are facing, the airline will be re-entering a temporary lease agreement with Wamos Air to help get customers to where they need to be,” said O’Brien.
Air New Zealand characterizes Madrid-based Wamos as a "proven and trusted provider," expressing confidence that Wamos will maintain the airline's expectations of customer care on board. Wamos is slated to operate the Auckland-Perth route from February 9 to April 30.
Air New Zealand will reach out to impacted customers directly, but individuals who made bookings through a third party will receive direct notification from their respective travel agents regarding the modifications. Since the Wamos aircraft lacks premium economy seats, passengers who had reserved those fares will be seamlessly moved to economy class and reimbursed the fare difference prior to their travel.
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Founded in June 2003, Wamos Air is a Spanish carrier based in Madrid. Wamos Air operates mostly leisure and charter flights from their hub, Madrid Barajas. The airline uses a fleet of ten Airbus A330s. The fleet is comprised of six A330-300s and four A330-200s. In the past, Wamos operated seven Boeing 747-400s one of which, was owned by Air New Zealand prior to being sold to Wamos Air in 2014.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
The lease of the Airbus A330 aircraft comes amid a global issue concerning Pratt and Whitney GTF (geared turbofan) engines. The issue will mean over 3000 Pratt and Whitney engines will need to be inspected before resuming regular service.
Air New Zealand recently warned of two years of disruptions as it checked for possible microscopic cracks in Pratt & Whitney engines. The affected aircraft are 17 A320 and 321 NEO jets serving Australia, the Pacific Islands and domestic routes. As a result, two international Air NZ routes will be paused from April 2024 – Auckland to Hobart and Seoul.