Air New Zealand staff performing on the flight from Rarotonga to New Zealand.
Passengers could be heard singing with the crew.
“It was unexpected,” Singleton told the Herald.
“Everything was as normal, and then about two or three hours in, they announced that to celebrate Māori Language Week, they had an all Māori crew on board and that they were going to do some waiata.
“I’d actually already nipped down the back and used the bathroom and seen one of the guys with his guitar, and I went, oh, that’s a bit of fun, you know, thinking he was just bringing his guitar for his trip to Raro for the day – but no, they did four beautiful songs.”
Megan Singleton, travel content creator and radio correspondent.
Singleton said the crew explained what Māori Language Week was all about and then launched into Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi.
“It was just so much fun,” she said.
“By the time they’d finished, we were all rocking along. It was really cool.”
Singleton’s videos have been viewed more than a million times, and thousands of people have commented.
Air New Zealand wrote: “Proud of our amazing crew honouring Te Wiki o te Reo Māori on board. Thanks for sharing Megan.”
A former Air New Zealand cabin crew member said she was “so proud”.
“Imagine your pax [passengers] flying home to the land of the long white cloud and hearing this. This is that moment when you know you ‘feel’ home.”
“Can Air New Zealand do this every flight? Please and thank you,” said someone else.
Another person wrote: “Core childhood memories singing this song. Never leaves your bones regardless of how far from home you end up.”
“I sang along from my bedroom,” said another.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the performance was organised by the crew.
“Our crew pulled together a celebration of Te Wiki o te Re Māori on board a return flight to Rarotonga this week, and it’s been lovely to see passengers filming and uploading their content,” she told the Herald.
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