Citing the “sheer demand for flights”, Air New Zealand is set to reintroduce the first of four Boeing 777-300ERs that have been in deep storage at Victorville in the Mojave Desert since 2020. The jet, ZK-OKP (c/n 39041), left the Californian facility on August 20, initially to Los Angeles before departing for Auckland the next day. It will undergo scheduled maintenance before re-joining the fleet in late September. The remaining examples could return “over the next year”.
Rex Airlines has re-opened the route between Melbourne and Devonport, its third Tasmanian destination after Burnie and King Island. The inaugural service, on August 19, was operated by Saab 340B, VH-ZXS (c/n 340B- 179), and was greeted on arrival with a water cannon salute. The 1hr 20min flight operates twice-daily on weekdays, departing from Melbourne at 0700hrs and again at 1700hrs; the return services leave Devonport at 0845hrs and 1845hrs, respectively. The frequencies drop to daily for Saturday (AM only) and Sunday (PM). Rex and its predecessor Kendell Airlines had previously served this route between 1989 and 2005.