Air New Zealand’s 312 seat-Boeing 777-200 aircraft touched down for the first time at Fua’amotu International Airport today, 1 April, starting a weekly service to Tonga.

The aircraft has three cabins - business class with 26 seats, 40 in premium economy and 246 in economy - and will fly the Nuku’alofa-Auckland route increasing seat capacity by 33 percent as well as cargo uplift close to 40 percent compared to the Boeing 767-300 aircraft it replaced.

Air NZ Chief Sales and Commercial Officer Cam Wallace said the introduction of the Boeing 777-200 on this route is good news for both customers and exporters.

“As well as increasing seat capacity on the route, we are also able to enhance the inflight experience by introducing our award winning inflight products, including Business Premier, Premium Economy and the Economy Skycouch to customers travelling between Nuku’alofa and Auckland for the first time.”

The airline which has been flying to Tonga for close to 70-years, currently operates six-services per week between Nuku’alofa and Auckland, five by the 168-seat Airbus A320 aircraft, while the sixth is now operated by the Boeing 777-200.

It is also expected to increasingly deploy wide-body aircraft on this route during peak demand periods.