There was plenty of excitement at Hamilton Airport recently as a Texel Air 737-800BCF (affectionately known as "Vera") arrived from Bahrain, via Bangkok and Darwin (a 15,000km journey).

(Aircraft details: 40 metres long, wingspan 34 metres, max speed nearly 900km)

The aircraft was in Hamilton for routine maintenance at the Ham Aero facility and will soon be operating the skies between Auckland and Christchurch multiple times a week, with Hamilton Airport as its maintenance base.   Vera will be providing cargo services on behalf of Parceline Express, a Freightways and New Zealand post subsidiary.   

Vera is a 22-year-old 737 that first took flight in May 2021 as a freighter, having been initially delivered new to Korean Air in 2001.