Air New Zealand pilot recruitment

NZ / ANZ

New Zealand's flag carrier and a Star Alliance member since 1999, linking Auckland with Asia, North America and the Pacific and serving a dense domestic network with its regional aircraft.

Air New Zealand fleet, hub and head office

1940

Founded

Head office

Auckland, New Zealand

Main hub

Auckland (main), Christchurch and Wellington

Fleet (aircraft types operated)

Boeing 787-9 and 777-300ER; Airbus A320neo and A321neo; ATR 72-600 and Dash 8 Q300 (Air New Zealand Link regional network)

Pilot recruitment at Air New Zealand

Entry is typically as a first officer on the ATR or Q300, at bases around New Zealand; jet roles (second officer on the 787/777, first officer on the A320/A321) go first to internal turboprop pilots. Published turboprop requirements: NZCAA CPL or higher, a current instrument rating and MEIR, 500 hours total time, NZCAA Class 1 medical and English level 6; applications are open to New Zealand citizens and residents and to Australian citizens. Jet roles require an NZCAA ATPL (or CPL with all ATPL subjects passed), 1 500 hours including 100 multi-engine, and multi-crew turboprop command or airline jet first officer experience. Selection involves online assessments and a two-day event in Auckland (simulator, interview, exercises); type rating and line training take about three months. Air New Zealand launched an « International Pilot Cadetship » in 2024 and is developing a New Zealand cadetship (« Mangōpare »), currently closed to applications. Check conditions on the Air New Zealand careers page.

Recruitment information is given as a guide only (public sources, subject to change over time): always check the current conditions on the airline's careers site.

History of Air New Zealand

The airline was born in April 1940 as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), flying flying boats between New Zealand and Australia, and became Air New Zealand in 1965. It merged with domestic carrier National Airways Corporation in 1978, was privatised in 1989 and joined Star Alliance in 1999. After the collapse of its Australian subsidiary Ansett, the government took back control in 2001.

Pay and conditions, from public sources

Figures published by the airline, pilot unions or the press, each one dated (last update: October 2026). For information only.

Pay: neither the careers page nor the first officer posting mentions salary; pay is set by collective agreements negotiated with the NZALPA union (October 2026).
Entry: pilots start as first officers on the turboprop fleet (ATR or Dash 8 Q300) at several bases around New Zealand, and these pilots get priority for moving to jets (October 2026).
Turboprop requirements: New Zealand CPL or ATPL (ATPL or all theory exams preferred), MEIR, Class 1 medical, 500 hours total including 25 night and 40 instrument hours, English level 6 (October 2026).
Nationality: the posting is open to New Zealand citizens or residents and Australian citizens; foreign licences must be converted with the New Zealand authority before any offer (October 2026).
Direct jet entry: requires, among other routes, 12 months of multi-crew turboprop command, or 12 months as a jet first officer or captain, or equivalent Royal New Zealand Air Force experience (October 2026).
Selection: application, online tests (cognitive ability, references, logbook), then two days in Auckland with a simulator assessment, interview, written tests and a group exercise, followed by security and medical checks before the offer (October 2026).
Training: type rating and line training take about three months after an induction phase (October 2026).
Collective agreement: the regional turboprop pilots' agreement was ratified on 30 September 2022, with gains on job security, allowances and flexible flying according to NZALPA (December 2022).

Sources read (3)

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Preparing for psychometric tests before a selection

Some pilot selections include psychometric tests. ForAllPilots does not say whether Air New Zealand uses them, or which ones: none of the series below is presented as Air New Zealand's.

To practise anyway, the site offers several series of exercises, included with the ATPL subscription. They are practice exercises, not official tests: ForAllPilots is not affiliated with any airline or any test publisher, and the exact rules or scoring may differ.

Blog guides to practise with

Prepare your theory: BIA, PPL and ATPL questions

Whether you are aiming for Air New Zealand or another airline, the ForAllPilots revision bank covers the BIA, the PPL and the ATPL.

Start revising

By licence:BIA question bank (FR)PPL question bank (FR)ATPL question bank (FR)

Other airlines

ForAllPilots is an independent site: it is not affiliated with Air New Zealand or any other airline, and publishes no job offers. To apply, go through the airline's careers site.