Air NZ electric aircraft to fly Wellington – Marlborough

Air New Zealand has selected Wellington-Marlborough as the route for commercial demonstrator flights with its Beta ALIA electric aircraft.

Cargo-only flights with NZ Post are due to begin in 2026.

Wellington and Marlborough airports will play a pivotal role in introducing lower-emissions aircraft to New Zealand, says Air New Zealand which announced the purchase of the ALIA CTOL from Beta Technologies late last year.

Wellington Airport will be the home base of Air New Zealand’s first next-generation aircraft, while Marlborough Airport will also establish charging infrastructure to power the aircraft for the return journey, Air New Zealand says.

The purpose of the commercial demonstrator is to set the New Zealand aviation system up for introducing lower emissions aircraft, says Air New Zealand chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin.

“We are incredibly grateful to both Wellington and Marlborough airports for being so willing to take on a leadership role in supporting Air New Zealand to establish next generation aircraft capability in our business.

“Their involvement is critical in supporting the infrastructure required to fly next-generation aircraft, and they’ll help lead the way in supporting airports across Aotearoa to make the changes needed for us to fly larger lower-emissions aircraft on our domestic network from 2030.”

Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke says hosting the commercial demonstrator is a real coup for the airport, which shares Air New Zealand’s ambition to accelerate the pace of change needed to decarbonise aviation.

” Our team put their heart and soul into the hosting bid and that same energy will now be focussed on getting this service off the ground.”

Marlborough Airport chief executive Dean Heiford says decarbonising aviation is of global importance.

“This is a big step for us on our own sustainability journey that we wouldn’t have been able to achieve without partnership.

“We’re looking forward to sharing our learnings with other regional airports across New Zealand,” he says.

“Hosting the demonstrator with Wellington will further cement Marlborough as an important hub to keep New Zealand connected across the Cook Strait.”

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand and Neste have signed an agreement for nine million litres of neat Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for delivery before the end of 2024.

Produced at Neste’s Singapore refinery, which expanded its SAF production capability last year, the nine million litres of SAF will be blended with conventional jet fuel to meet the required specifications and supplied to Los Angeles International Airport between April 1 and November 30, 2024.