Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand is a big passenger airline from Auckland, New Zealand. It flies mainly in Australasia and South Pacific, but it also has services to Europe, North America and Asia. It is a Star Alliance member. It joined the alliance in 1999.^[1] Its main base or hub is Auckland International Airport.

History

In 1940, TEAL was founded. Its first flights were from Auckland to Sydney and Wellington. Later, flights to Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and the Cook Islands were added.^[2] The Australian government bought 50% of TEAL in 1953. The remaining 50% was owned by the Government of New Zealand. In 1961, the airline became completely owned by the Government of New Zealand. TEAL was officially renamed Air New Zealand on April 1, 1965. The airline bought Douglas DC-8 airplanes in July 1965. These were used for longer routes to Honolulu and Los Angeles.^[3] A larger Boeing 747 was bought in 1981. Air New Zealand bought Ansett Australia in 2000. Ansett later went out of business.