Although fuel savings became a larger goal, the flight was initially intended to demonstrate how airlines could cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Airliners contribute about 3% of the world's carbon emissions, but some scientists believe that emissions from planes are more harmful because they occur higher up in the atmosphere.
The flight was formally dubbed Aspire One, after the name of the partnership -- Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions -- but unofficially it was called the "perfect flight" to reflect Air New Zealand's ambition to operate the most efficient flight possible.
The airline has been at the forefront of finding new ways of making flights more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient. In December, Air New Zealand plans to fly a Boeing 747 jumbo jet partially powered by fuel refined from the seeds of the jatropha, a type of fast-growing weed.
The airline's environmental efforts are "consistent with what motivates people to come to New Zealand," Chief Executive Rob Fyfe said.
For the FAA, Friday's flight was a boost for its multibillion-dollar effort to modernize air-traffic control. It has been stalled in Congress, where lawmakers have questioned the ambitious plan that includes setting up an advanced satellite-based air-traffic-control system.
In an interview Friday, the FAA's Sturgell said the flight helped show that parts of the modernization effort were already in place. "You can see the results. You can show it's here today. That's what Congress wants to see."
For instance, the flight used satellite-based communications to get up-to-date weather reports that were used to divert the flight to a more fuel-efficient path.
At Auckland, the demonstration flight officially kicked off about 15 minutes before departure as Morgan got on the plane's public-address system and disclosed to unsuspecting passengers that they were part of a test flight.
For Friday's flight, the ground crew waited until 20 minutes before departure, under a new "just in time fueling" procedure, to top off the plane's fuel tank. This way, the amount of fuel would be based closer to the actual passenger load, which showed that the plane was 1,800 pounds lighter than expected and didn't need as much fuel as initially estimated.
As passengers began boarding, the aircraft relied on the airport's electrical power instead of its own auxiliary power unit to save fuel. Most planes sitting at the gate waiting for passengers to board use the unit to power up the plane.
