KEY POINTS:
The Air Force's second VIP passenger jet is back from the United States after a $110 million refit, but unlikely to be fully commissioned for another two or three months.
The aircraft returned to Auckland's Whenuapai air base last night after a refit in the US.
The refit gave it a new main deck cargo door and a strengthened deck, updated military and civilian communications and navigation systems, and a new cargo handling system.
The Air Force's other Boeing 757 returned last year after having the same modifications but, when it returned to the US for maintenance and final work on the modifications, the air force had no Boeing 757 available.
That drew criticism from Prime Minister John Key, who demanded to know why both aircraft were out of the country at the same time when he wanted to send the air force to Asia to bring home New Zealanders trapped by the closure of Bangkok Airport by industrial action.
The Air Force instead sent a Hercules which took 48 hours to get there, but which was not used.
The Air Force said the second Boeing would now go through an operational assessment which could take two or three months.
That assessment would cover all the modifications and make sure they all met the air force's specifications.
Both aircraft were expected to stay in service for another 14 years.
The modifications allow the Boeing 757 aircraft to work in a combination of freight and passenger configurations.
The Government had earlier said the modifications were needed to meet its defence requirements and be able to deploy New Zealand troops and equipment around the world.
- NZPA
