Air New Zealand has welcomed back its first plane from 'deep storage' in the Mojave Desert.
The Boeing 777-300 was stored in Victorville, California for nearly two years.
A number of Air New Zealand planes were mothballed in Auckland and overseas due to reduced travel demand during the Covid pandemic.
However, demand has now seen the first of them return.
"For the next six to eight weeks, ZK-OKP will have scheduled maintenance in Hangar 3 before re-joining the operating fleet in late September," the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.
"ZK-OKP is the first of four Victorville-based 777-300 aircraft to be reanimated and the airline is working through a programme to bring back the three-remaining aircraft over the next year.
Some planes have been in mothballs in California since the pandemic hit. (Source: Seven Sharp)
"The airline also has three 777-300 aircraft that were stored locally here in Auckland for the last two years. Two of these aircraft are back in service, with 777-300 ZK-OKO due to re-enter service in the coming weeks."
Victorville in the Mojave Desert is the perfect place to store aircraft, dry and hot, with no rust or damp worries, even over a period of almost 700 days.
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