Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand is an international and domestic airline group by passengers and cargo transport services within New Zealand and to and from Australia, the South West Pacific, Asia, North America and the United Kingdom.Air New Zealand also encompasses business units providing engineering and ground handling. Subsidiaries extend to booking systems, wholesale and retail services.Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline scheduled passenger flights to 27 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations in 14 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is currently the only airline to fly around the world. Air New Zealand is a member of the Star Alliance global airline alliance, after having joined in 1999.Air New Zealand route network focuses on Australia and the South Pacific with long-haul flights to Asia, Europe and North America. The airline's main hub is Auckland Airport, Mangere near Auckland in the southern part of the city. Air New Zealand is headquartered in a building called The Hub, located 20 km (12 miles) from Auckland Airport, in the Western Reclamation, Auckland City.Air New Zealand was established in 1940 as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), a flying boat company operating trans-Tasman flights between New Zealand and Australia. TEAL was fully owned by the New Zealand government in 1965, whereupon it was renamed Air New Zealand. The airline was privatized in 1989, but returned to majority government ownership in 2001 after a failed tie with Australian carrier Ansett Australia (Ansett suffered when financial issues and folded operations in that year). From 2008 Air New Zealand with 11.7 million passengers annually.New Zealand's national airline operates a fleet of long-haul Boeing 747, Boeing 767, Boeing 777 and Airbus A320s on international routes. The carrier also uses a fleet of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft for short-haul operations. Air New Zealand regional subsidiary Air Nelson, Eagle Airways, Mount Cook Airline operate more short-haul New Zealand domestic services. Air New Zealand was awarded rated the eighth best airline in the world by Skytrax 2009 Airline of the Year and in 2010 by Air Transport World Airline Awards Global.