Air New Zealand Hobit schemes

[bell407]

Hi all.

I was wondering how long the Air New Zealand 777-300ER's will carry their special schemes for. The one with the dragon and then I think there are one or two others waring Hobit schemes as well.

How long do they wear them for and how much longer with the wear them?

Also the All blacks scheme, will that one eventually revert to the standard / new colors or will they keep one aircraft of each type in all black?

Is there a site where I can find these answers or track the current schemes?

Thanks
Jason

[777219]

Try asking your question on the Airliners.net web site in the Aviation Forum, New Zealand Aviation Thread 144. There seems to be a lot of insider info there.

[bell407]

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

[nuuumannn]

Normally an airliner wears special schemes between heavy maintenance checks since painting an airliner is a big and costly task. Repainting it might be within the schedule of the next heavy check, either a C or D Check depending on the type of aircraft.

[beagle]

Would I be right in saying the Hobbit ones are big decals that will be able to be peeled off and the paint cleaned up, which would only incur little cost if done during a c check

[nuuumannn]

Would I be right in saying the Hobbit ones are big decals that will be able to be peeled off and the paint cleaned up, which would only incur little cost if done during a c check

Yep, they are big decals, but the 777 is a big aircraft; scaffolding or a crane will be used to gain access to remove them and if there is any residue left over, it will still need removing either chemically or mechanically, after which the aircraft might be repainted again, depending on the finish afterwards and the schedule of the heavy check.

Normally such work would be done within the heavy check schedule that requires that a repaint is carried out; it's being done as part of the check at any rate, so you might as well work within that requirement, since the staffing and prep is going into the aircraft anyway. Not every heavy check is the same or has the same work orders attached. Over time, a repaint is required due to normal wear, but it isn't with every heavy check. I'm not 100 percent with these in this case however, since I don't work on 777s. C-Checks take place every 18 months to two years and D-Checks every five years. Most airliners usually undergo one or t'other and this is stipulated by the manufacturer.

[pvsjetstar]

My guess is that once the aircraft have the decals removed, they will also be painted into the new Silver Fern livery, the same as ZK-OKR which arrived new from Boeing last week.
The 2 aircraft concerned are ZK-OKO and ZK-OKP which are 4 and a half years and almost 4 years old now. So perhaps by the time they're 5 years old, they'd be due for repainting anyway.
Just a thought….

[777219]

Repainting of the big aircraft is not based on a set interval but on condition. Air NZ is notorious for leaving it too long......usually something between 7 and 10 years. Repainting is very rarely done at the same time as a major C or D check these days due to the additional down time of about 10-15 days. Repainting is often done at specialised facilities where heavy maintenance isn't carried out. Air NZ does not repaint an aircraft larger than a B737 or A320 anymore. B767, 747 and 777 are all done overseas.
B777 C checks are at 6000 hour intervals which equates to about 20-24 months flying. D checks are at 7 years for the first one and 8 years from then on. The B787 is 12 years before the first D check!
The Marketing department will probably have more say when the Hobit decals should be removed than Engineering will. Engineering will then have to find the most convenient heavy check or even make special down time and remove them and touch up as required. Repaints are a long way off for OKO and OKP, I would think!