Mt Cook to retain ATR72 fleet
Announcement to staff today regarding the future of the Mt Cook fleet:
ATR72
Air New Zealand has agreed with the owners to purchase seven of the leased ATR72 aircraft when the leases expire.
Air New Zealand operates 11 ATR aircraft on regional routes, and for the past 18 months has been evaluating fleet replacement options, given the progressive expiry of the leases.
After assessing a range of alternatives, we determined the best commercial and strategic option was to purchase the seven leased aircraft and retain the existing fleet. The agreed purchase price is at market rates (the sale price is confidential).
We expect the next generation of turbo prop aircraft to be available from 2015. Retaining our current ATR fleet until then means that we will be able to minimise our capital expenditure and transition directly into the new generation aircraft.
We considered three replacement options for the 68-seat ATR aircraft – the ATR72-600, the Bombardier Q400 and the Embraer E-170. While the alternative aircraft types that were considered had some advantages, they were not enough to offset the significant cost of capital to replace the fleet.
The other aircraft we considered were more expensive to operate and those costs would ultimately have impacted on ticket prices. By choosing the most cost-effective ATR option, we can continue to deliver the best value fares to our regional customers.
The ATR aircraft is well-liked by customers, offering comfortable and quiet travel. It is one of the quietest turbo-prop aircraft types in the world and provides a number of other environmental advantages including the best fuel efficiency of aircraft in its size class. From next year, we also plan to revitalise and refresh the ATR interiors.
The ATRs came into service in 1999 and by the time they exit to make way for the next generation of turbo-prop aircraft, will still be a fleet of relatively young aircraft.
The first aircraft will transfer to Air New Zealandownership in October next year.