The full announcement to NZX
AIR
03/08/2007
GENERAL
REL: 1445 HRS Air New Zealand Limited (NS)
GENERAL: AIR: Boeing 777 Announcement
Air New Zealand Purchases Boeing 777-300ERs
Air New Zealand announced today that it will purchase four Boeing 777-300
Extended Range (ER) aircraft, as it continues to implement its wide-body
fleet renewal programme.
Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe says the aircraft will be delivered in
parallel with the airline's Boeing 787-9 between late 2010 and 2011. The
airline has also secured purchase options for a further three B777-300ER
aircraft.
The purchase of the four Boeing 777-300ERs, which was achieved based on
prices agreed in 2004, represents a substantial discount to today's list
price of USD$1.1 billion.
"The purchase rights for the 777-300ERs were obtained from Boeing in 2004,
and the confidence we showed in the future of Air New Zealand when the
aircraft purchasing market was at the bottom of the cycle three years ago has
really paid off," says Mr Fyfe.
Today's announcement takes the amount committed by Air New Zealand to long
haul fleet investment to more than NZ$2.6 billion.
"When we have taken delivery of all the aircraft we have on order, Air New
Zealand will have one of the youngest, most technologically advanced, most
fuel efficient and most environmentally friendly long haul fleets in the
world. Simply, we will set a high benchmark and standard for all our
competitors both in terms of operational efficiency and world-class products
and service," Mr Fyfe says.
The latest acquisitions will allow Air New Zealand to move to a full 777 and
787 twin engine fleet for long-haul flights around 2012, with the 747s and
767s being phased out as the new aircraft are introduced to the network.
"Our eight 747-400s have been the mainstay of our long haul fleet for almost
18 years, and have proven to be a real workhorse for the airline. However,
the Boeing 787-9 and 777 aircraft are much better suited to Air New Zealand's
long-term growth strategy of serving new markets point-to-point, and offer
significant environmental benefits through higher fuel efficiency and reduced
carbon emissions."
The Boeing 787 is 20% more fuel efficient than other long-haul aircraft,
while the 777s in Air New Zealand's fleet are 16% more efficient than its
747s. The 777s will be powered by one of the world's most highly efficient
and reliable engines manufactured by General Electric.
"Since the early 1990s we have been steadily reducing our CO2 emissions per
passenger due to fleet upgrades, technology improvements and better operating
practices and we are determined to continue that trend and take advantage of
the technological advances that have been made in aircraft engineering and
manufacturing in recent years," Mr Fyfe says.
Air New Zealand currently has eight Boeing 777-200ERs in its fleet and eight
Boeing 787-9s on order, for delivery over the next five years. The airline is
the launch customer for the Boeing 787-9.
Mr Fyfe says the 787s and 777-300ER aircraft will provide Air New Zealand
with a solid platform to realise its growth ambitions over the next decade,
given their ability to fly direct to regions like India, South America, Asia
and deep into China and North America.
"But having aircraft that allow us to achieve our environmental and new
destination ambitions are just two parts of the equation to ensure Air New
Zealand's continued success. How we design the interiors of those aircraft
is what will really set us apart from the competition and give us a
competitive advantage.
"To ensure we continue to remain at the cutting edge of delivering a unique
and inspirational product for long haul travel we are working closely with
IDEO, one of the world's most innovative design organisations, on the design
for the Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-300ER interior product," he says.
"Our goal is to redefine long-haul travel. Air New Zealand's premium product
broke new ground when it was introduced in 2005. We plan to change the game
again in 2010 with a world-leading product that is both inspirational and
uniquely Kiwi.
"Over the past two years we have seen exceptional growth in yields on our
long haul product thanks to the substantial efforts and investment we put
into creating a game-changing proposition. We expect the next evolution will
build on that success and really take our customers' long-haul experience to
the next level."