Air New Zealand

Some New Zealanders with Maori heritage wear tattoos to mark their genealogy and heritage.

The airline said from 1 September, all employees will be able to display "non-offensive" tattoos at work.

It said there was growing acceptance of tattoos, particularly as a means of personal expression.

The airline's tattoo restrictions attracted criticism and some accused it of hypocrisy for using other aspects of Maori culture - such as language and symbols - in its marketing efforts.

Speaking in Auckland on Monday Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said it had eight firm orders for the new aircraft and an agreement with Boeing includes an option to increase the number of aircraft from eight to up to 20. 

The deal is worth US$2.7 billion (NZ$4.12b). Air New Zealand has negotiated a significant discount on current list prices and the parties have agreed not to disclose the actual purchase price.

Air New Zealand said it had diverted several flights to Fiji over the past few days to top up on fuel.

It said the temporary shut-down of the damaged pipeline was affecting all airlines operating in and out of Auckland Airport.

The airport said it does not know how long the problem would take to fix, but it said it was in regular contact with the company responsible for the pipeline, Refinery New Zealand, to know when it would be operational again.

The airline has been operating a second flight only during the high season and was due to return to the twice weekly flights from the end of this month.

The Secretary to the Niue government Richard Hipa said Niue had signed an air services agreement with the airline for the second flight to continue through the low season.

"It's good news for us and we just hope there'll be bums on seats to make it economical."

An employment lawyer says the images could bring the airline into "disrepute", and may amount to serious misconduct.

The photos show a pilot posing with a blow-up doll inside an aircraft. It is understood the images were shared to Facebook and Instagram.

Another video, which appears to have been posted to Snapchat, shows a flight attendant moving through the cabin, spitting water.

The video is captioned: "Wish I could spit on passengers like this".

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the airline was "shocked and appalled" by the images.

Auckland woman Alex Catchpole-Ozpınar was supposed to board her 9.30am flight to Tonga on Monday for a five day holiday but was turned away at the Air NZ check in counter because her aircraft had reached its weight limit.

Catchpole-Ozpınar said she was told by a manager that if an aircraft weighed too much they kicked off the person who was last to book online.

“This is such a screw up I expected way better from Air New Zealand,” she said in a post on the airline's Facebook page.

Matangi Tonga reports the 312 seat aircraft will fly the Nuku'alofa-Auckland route increasing seat capacity by 33 percent as well as cargo uplift close to 40 percent.

Previously the route had been serviced by the Boeing 767-300.