Air New Zealand has teamed up with school students to support the All Blacks as they prepare for next week's historic match with Manu Samoa by creating New Zealand's longest All Blacks' fan banner.

The 'Crazy about Rugby' airline enlisted the help of eight rugby playing schools from throughout Auckland to create a banner the length of Air New Zealand's largest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300 - roughly 74 metres.

Pupils from Viscount School, Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate School, Redoubt North School, Bairds Mainfreight School, Puhinui School, Holy Cross School Papatoetoe, Koru School and Papatoetoe South School worked on different sections of the banner which was unveiled to 200 of the young artists involved along with members of the All Blacks at a fun-day at Eden Park this morning.

Air New Zealand Chief Marketing and Customer Officer Mike Tod says that, like Air New Zealand, Kiwi kids are among the All Blacks' biggest fans so it was great to get them involved.

'It's a big year for the team so we wanted to show we're behind them in a big way and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

'The kids have been just as enthusiastic about this as we have and the end result is a spectacular banner filled with colour, creativity and messages of support for the boys. We're looking forward to showing it off at the All Blacks' history-making game in Samoa next week.'

As well as debuting the banner to their heroes at Eden Park today, the students got a chance to do 'Skills and Drills' exercises with members of the All Blacks.

The banner will be displayed at an All Blacks community day in Apia on 7 July and at the game - as the team goes head to head with Manu Samoa on 8 July.

'Whether we're creating a banner the size of a jet aircraft, painting aircraft 'all black' or flying our national team around the globe, we are proud to be supporting the All Blacks both on the ground and in the air,' says Mr Tod.

Air New Zealand has been a sponsor of rugby in New Zealand for more than two decades and an official partner of the All Blacks since 1998.

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Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs ph +64 21 747 320

About Star Alliance:

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. The integration of Avianca Brasil is currently in progress. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.

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