Air New Zealand has signed a firm agreement for 15 new ATR 72-600s, in a deal worth $375 million at list prices.
In a statement, the airline says that 11 of the turboprops will be used to replace its existing ATR 72-500s, while the other four will allow further growth on regional routes.
The turboprops will be delivered from late-2016.
“The extra four 69 seat ATR 72-600s that we are adding to our fleet will enable us to operate up to an additional 600,000 seats into the New Zealand regional market annually. This latest investment will further allow us to maintain our low fare price and high frequency leadership,” says the airline’s chief executive Christopher Luxon.
Air NZ signed for 14 -600s in 2012. Seven of these aircraft have since been delivered, while the remaining seven will join its fleet by mid-2016.
Upon the delivery of the new aircraft, the Star Alliance carrier will operate a fleet of 29 ATR turboprops. It also has 19 Beech 1900D and 23 Bombardier Dash 8-Q300s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
