Air NZ to buy ATR72-600
Air NZ advise today that they have ordered seven new-generation ATR72-600 aircraft with purchase options for a further five worth a total list price of US$270 million. Today’s announcement will significantly boost air service connections to regional New Zealand.
The first of the 68 seat ATR72-600 aircraft will be delivered in October 2012 followed by a second in December that year, two in 2013 and another each year for three years. The five purchase options are available for delivery between 2014 and 2016.
This follows Air New Zealand’s investment in 23 Q300 aircraft over the past six years worth more than NZ$450 million at list price and the purchase from lease of the majority of ATR72-500 fleet over the past eighteen months.
The new-generation ATR72-600 is the most efficient aircraft in its class and features a new cabin layout with larger overhead bins, improved seating and advanced cockpit technology including Required Navigation Performance (RNP) technology. The introduction of RNP will further enhance our ability to maintain services during inclement weather to and from destinations like Queenstown, Rotorua and Wellington.
The new ATR 72-600 aircraft will give the means to up-gauge Q300 operated routes that will require more capacity in the coming years. In turn, this will release Q300 aircraft to up-gauge on some Beech 1900D operated routes, enabling us to look at start-up routes. So there is benefit in bringing in the larger turbo-props and cascading growth down throughout our regional operation. It is likely that some routes currently serviced by the smaller Q300, such as Nelson-Auckland and New Plymouth-Auckland, will see this larger turbo-prop in use.
It’s likely that the new fleet will be Auckland-based, providing us with an excellent spread of regional aircraft including bases in Christchurch, Nelson and Hamilton. This will give us a solid platform for regional growth particularly into and out of Auckland.