Air New Zealand showcases all-black Star Alliance Livery

Air New Zealand rolled out an all-black Star Alliance livery on an Airbus A321neo, the first of its kind, according to the carrier.

The Airbus A321neo, registered as ZK-OYB, was spotted on a four-day delivery flight between November 19 and November 23, 2022. The aircraft hopped through four different airports, starting its journey at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW), where an Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) is located, continuing onto Muscat International Airport (MCT), and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), before landing at Australia’s Cairns Airport (CNS), and finally, arriving at Auckland Airport (AKL) at 5:58 PM local time (GMT +13).

While the Kiwi carrier has had other aircraft with the Star Alliance livery, the newly delivered A321neo is the first to feature a black fuselage and is currently the only jet to showcase the alliance’s paint scheme. Previously, the Auckland, New Zealand-based carrier operated an Airbus A320, registered as ZK-OJH, with the alliance’s name written on a white fuselage. That aircraft was withdrawn from use on February 16, 2020 and found a new home with the Pakistan-based AirSial as AP-BOA.

According to Airbus Orders & Deliveries data, as of October 31, 2022, Air New Zealand has six more A321neos on order.