AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — Air New Zealand has received a brand new ATR72-600 turboprop plane. The aircraft is the last unit of a previously placed order in 2012 with the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer.



The turboprop with registration ZK-MZF landed at Auckland Airport on Wednesday afternoon after an epic 10-day, 22,000km journey.

Starting in Toulouse, France, the turboprop made stops in seven countries respectively Greek island of Crete, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Maldives, Malaysia, Bali, and Australia, before its flight across the Tasman.

The ATR has been a workhorse for Air New Zealand with an estimated 33.5 million passengers on over 636,000 flights across the country. The national carrier has one of the world’s largest fleets of ATR72-600s with 29 turboprops. ANZ retired its ATR 72-500 last year.