Air New Zealand has pushed back the delivery of its first re-engined Airbus A320 family aircraft to the second half of 2018.
The Star Alliance carrier disclosed the delay in an investor day presentation. This will now see its first A320neo enter the fleet in July 2018, followed in September by the first A321neo.
As a result, the carrier will now take a total of six A320neo family aircraft in the fiscal year ending June 2019 – including four on operating leases. It will then take two more in the following year, one of which will be leased.
The delay will allow the A321neos to be fitted with a redesigned interior carrying 214 seats instead of the originally planned 209 seats.
To cover the changes in the delivery schedule, the carrier has extended leases on five A320ceos in its fleet.
The re-engined A320s and A321s will replace the carrier's 12 A320s that are used on transtasman routes. Flight Fleets Analyzer show that these jets are between 11 and 14 years old, while the A320s used on domestic routes are six years or younger.
Air NZ also disclosed that it has leases on two Boeing 777-200ERs expiring in 2020. It also holds early termination options on one 777-300ER in 2019, as well as two of the domestic A320s.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
