Damn it, they still haven't sacked Captain Kangaroo..(6:52) Had the misfortune of him at the controls when he was practicing his nosedive landing in across the Strait. Love the scenic route approach to Wellington, such a breathtaking scene especially when you're fortunate enough to land over the top of an interisland ferry
I think because of the length of the runway, the takeoff weight of planes like the 777-300 is limited. I don't think a fully loaded 777 300 could safely take off from Wellington
For example, Singapore Airlines used to fly Wellington-Canberra-Singapore using a 777-200. The length of the runway allowed the 777-200 to take off safely fully loaded with passengers and enough fuel to get to Canberra, but the fuel required to fly direct to Singapore would make the plane too heavy to safely take off from Wellington, hence the stopover.
