Air New Zealand (ANZ) is preparing to place an order for turboprop aircraft to replace the Saab 340A fleet of its regional subsidiary Air Nelson, writes Leithen Francis.
Aircraft under consideration are the ATR 42, Bombardier Dash 8 Q300, and Saab 340B and 340B+, say industry sources. Air Nelson currently operates 17 33-seat Saab 340As.
Industry sources say the airline wants to replace all of them with 17 firm orders and take options on a further 10.
ANZ confirms it plans to order about 17 aircraft to replace Air Nelson's 340As but declines to say which aircraft types are under consideration.
"Essentially the 340As are at the stage where they are getting quite old and we want to have as young a fleet as possible," says the carrier.
"We are looking at aircraft with a slightly higher [seating] capacity because we have increased passenger volumes since introducing Express Class [the airline's no-frills domestic product]."
One of ANZ's other regional subsidiaries, Mount Cook Airlines, already operates 11 ATR 72s.
ANZ declines to specify when its board will make a decision but says: "We are getting towards the business end of the [aircraft evaluation] process and expect to make a decision relatively soon."
Source: Flight International
