Sick kids' dreams come true on Dreamliner Koru Care flight around NZ

Merapi Uangakore, 13, will be on the Koru Care flight today. Photo / Supplied

Unwell kids, including a 13-year-old with a heart condition, are taking to the skies today for a scenic flight around New Zealand.

The Koru Care flight was arranged mainly for children who were not well enough to travel on the charity's overseas trips to Disneyland and the Gold Coast.

Merapi Uangakore, from Manurewa, is one of those kids getting the chance to see New Zealand from the sky.

She told the Herald she was excited about the journey and had never been on a plane until a short test flight to Wellington a week and a half ago.

"It was kind of scary...it got better," Merapi said of her first plane ride.

"She was really excited too, she was giggling this crazy kind of giggle," her mum Paula Uangakore said.

The teen was born with a heart problem which required three open heart surgeries, and continued to affect her health.

"The left side of her heart didn't develop well," Paula said.

Merapi was currently unable to attend school due to her condition.

"It was supposed to be her first year of college, but they have to walk between classes...she ends up getting exhausted."

Doctors were also unsure if she would be able to fly, or to get through a flight without needing extra oxygen. The short test flight proved she could.

The flight today will take 50 children aged between 6 and 17 with a variety of medical conditions on a secret route over New Zealand.

The flight path will be streamed live on Facebook, however, so family and friends on the ground will be able to see the 787-9 Dreamliner's route.

Air New Zealand's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Photo/File

The plane is due to take off from Auckland Airport at noon after a pre-departure party hosted by Air New Zealand.

The flight will be longer than Merapi's trip to Wellington, at about three hours.

Merapi's family is planning a trip to Rarotonga next year, and her mother said initially she was worried her daughter would not be well enough to go.

"We weren't sure if she would be able to come with us or not - we were afraid we might have to leave her behind."

But it is now likely Merapi would be able to go to the Cook Islands with the rest of her family.

It was a particularly special destination for the family as Merapi's grandmother, who died three years ago, was born in Rarotonga.