A further 9000 Air NZ passengers will face disruptions due to Dreamliner safety concerns

April 23, 2018

Air New Zealand says the removal of the planes from service will affect international flights for months.

The number of Air New Zealand's international customers affected by the global Rolls-Royce engine issues continues to grow.

It's expected around 9000 people this week will be affected by re-timed international Dreamliner services.

Around 6500 were affected last week.

The airline has canceled or rescheduled a number of flights while two of its Dreamliners are out of action as the engines were removed to be sent for maintenance in Singapore.

Air New Zealand confirmed the impact is confined to two key United States routes (Los Angeles and Houston) as well as Japan services operating to and from Haneda airport and a limited number of trans-Tasman and Pacific Island flights. 

Air New Zealand said the number of customers likely to be impacted by these changes is less than three per cent of all customers traveling with Air New Zealand this week.

Chief operational integrity and standards officer David Morgan explained that some Dreamliners are now making new refueling stops.

He says depending on weather conditions, some flights may not be able to depart with all the fuel they require, prompting the need for the fuel stop.

Over the weekend, 787-9 flights had been forced to make fuel stops at Sydney, Cairns, Darwin and Guam.

"Having the flexibility to make a short fuel stop means we are more likely to be able to take a full contingent of customers and cargo," he says.

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