Tor sale’ aircraft back in service

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 10

Tor sale’ aircraft back in service

An Air New Zealand Boeing 737 that has lain idle at the Christchurch jet maintenance hangar for the last three months, will re-enter domestic service, freeing other aircraft for maintenance. The public affairs manager for the airline, Mr V. J. Mitchell, has said that the sale of the aircraft was still under negotiation. ZK-NAM was built at Boeing’s Seattle plant in 1968 and was used by Boeing as a : test aircraft in the'development of the advanced 737. ZK-NAM is not itself an advanced version, but -"half way between” according to Mr Mitchell. It was bought by Air New Zealand in February, 1974. and is one of nine 737 s owned by the airline. Mr Mitchell said that the aircraft was surplus to the airline's requirements.'As far as he knew, it was the only 737 Air New Zealand was selling. "Some 737 s are capable of handling short-haul Pacific routes." Mr Mitchell said. He did not know whether ZKNAM was one of these.

“It is an aircraft under negotiation with a party," Mr Mitchell said. “It takes quite a long time and is a fairly complex matter.” Considerations in the sale of an aircraft included pilot training, spare parts, the number of engines to be sold, and the terms of finance. Mr Mitchell said that there was unlikely to be a price for a bare aircraft. During its stay at . the Christchurch jet maintenance

hangar, the 737 has undergone considerable changes. The windows have been covered over for the painting of the aircraft which is now white with a teal blue tail. A portion of the tail section is missing. The seats inside the aircraft have been removed, a procedure which is "very common for overhaul," Mr Mitchell said. He said that the work done on the aircraft was standard procedure when preparing an aircraft for sale.