Air NZ's fleet updated in billion dollar spend-up
Air New Zealand has selected Airbus over Boeing for its domestic and short-haul fleet after evaluating the A320 and the 737-800 for the past eight months.
The carrier said today it would acquire 14 new A320s to replace its 133-seat 15 737s used on domestic routes and had acquired purchase rights for a further 11 171-seat Airbus twinjets.
Short-haul airline general manager Bruce Parton said the first new A320 was scheduled for delivery in January 2011 with the rest delivered progressively through 2016 to coincide with the expiry of 737 leases.
The planes being targeted for purchase are worth more than $US1 billion, but the company said it would get the planes at a large discount, although it is keeping quiet on the final price paid. No one from Air NZ was available to talk about price or the exchange rate at which the planes were bought.
“The industry is at the bottom of a deep cycle so demand for aircraft is limited, creating favourable conditions for buyers with strong balance sheets like Air New Zealand,” Mr Parton said.
Whatever the discount, the amount the company spends on the new planes are a huge investment for a business whose average market capitlisation was about $960 million in July, when it last indicated a possible renewal of its narrow body fleet of aircraft.
Air New Zealand currently has 12 A320 aircraft in operation, with an average age of 5.3 years, while the 15 737s now in use by the company and due to be replaced have an average age of 11.8 years.
The seven B747-400 jet aircraft used by Air New Zeland are even older, with an average age of 14.8 years, but are due to be replaced late next year by five new B777-200ER aircraft.
The company has described a fleet update as “part of the oridnary course of business”, with continued renewals and updates over the years, including the 2007 $US4.5 billion acquisition of four B777 and six B787-9 aircraft with option rights over a further three B777 and another eight B787-9 aircraft.
The A320 family of planes have a strong safety record their 20 years of service, but have been involved in a number of high profile accidents, including the loss seven lives – including five New Zealanders - when the Air New Zealand-bound plane crashed off the southern coast of France last year and the ditching of another A320 in the Hudson river in New York in January.
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Comments and questions28
Air NZ - please think again! It seems whenever there is a plane crash these days it is always an Airbus! Have got to the point where I start to look at the plane they use before travelling - and now this!
Will still use our national airline - but have to admit, don't know whether I will feel as safe as I do in a Boeing!!
god help us from 'expert' aviation comentators like you...! Well done Air NZ, keep the fleet new, keep type consistancy, and keep the costs down...
Looks like it's Pacific Blue for domestic and Tasman for me now.
If it ain't Boeing - I ain't going.
http://www.airfleets.net/crash/fatalities_plane.htm
For the record, the B747s are being replaced with longer range 777-300ERs not -200ERs (which Air NZ currently operate). It seems to me that the entire A320 family is plagued with issues. I imagine that Air NZ is planning to equip the entire fleet with floats in the likely event one of them will have to ditch on Auckland Harbour. Is Air NZ keen for a repeat of the XL Airways incident? The B737-800 was the clear choice.
http://www.airfleets.net/crash/fatalities_plane.htm
A320 = 636 fatalities
737NG (737-800) = 268 fatalities
It's not rocket science to see that the 737-800 would have been the safer choice.
New technology over very old technology.
Get behind us you Boeing spin merchants!
Calculated US misinformation.
Where is the US when we wish to expand/maintain our markets?
Air NZ what are you doing?? Air BUSted looks like no more fly with you our national carrier
A320 keeps costs down? With containerised baggage? With corroded wings? With poor despatch reliability? If they're so great for costs then why is Ryan Air only buying more Boeings?
If you want to keep costs down why not buy some second hand Tupolevs from Africa. Oops, I shouldn't tempt fate.
Crew hate the 320. Engineers hate the 320. Your customers hate the 320. People have lost confidence in the 320 for legitimate reasons.
Hope its worth the next million dollar bonus Rob.
Perhaps it's a way of keeping ongoing costs down. The more Domestic crew they can kill in A320 crashes, the more cheap labour they can employ to replace them.
1 x DC8
1 x F27
1 x DC10
1 x A320
0 x Boeing
A320s are a good choice... experience with operating type, plenty of seats, easier to load, good range and a training programme already in place, though it'll be sad to see NZ's work horse jet of more than 40 years bow out of Air NZ service. That only leaves the x 4 A380s we need to increase toursim flows and the A330-200s to replace 777-200ER to be announced.
It is always amazing how vocal the Boeing pukes are. Must be a great deal of insercuity. Small dick wonders.
Air New Zealand...you have ended your 40 year 737 tradition; you have caused a major rift within your company as 99% of staff didn't want this aircraft; you will be plagued with issues. The A320 is not suited to operating in this part of the world and it HATES Wellington Airport. It seems that Air New Zealand love having deaf ears to the travelling public and to their staff - nobody wanted self check-in but it came...just another kick in the teeth for staff and customers.
What's wrong with you guys, didn't you look at the statistics? Or has Uncle Sam completely brainwashed you?
I had a holiday in NZ this year , flew Jetstar, had to send my skiis by Air NZ , why , cannot fit in containerised baggage, cost extra 250 NZD for holiday ( 3 sets of skiis ) B737 has oversize baggage capacity, Jetstar's Airbus , oversize baggage does not exist. Now I will not be able to fly AirNZ as well, I work on aircraft, Airbus is a bad choice in this part of the world. How many more Airbus have to have computer faults. AirFrance accident needs to be clarified before I fly on an Airbus again.
Do all Kiwis want to be Americans, yuck.
The A320 has been in service 10 years longer than the 737NG. Check back in 10 years time and see the number of fatalities of the NG (and compare them with todays' A320 figure) and you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Both aircraft makers produce reliable aircraft - it's poor aircraft maintenance and human error that plays a big part in the bulk of accidents.
I guess what's missing in the reporting is any transparent justification by Air NZ why one aircraft was chosen over the other. The reasons being given by the airline don't make sense except for a cheap price, but a cheap price to buy the aircraft does not pay off over time if the operating cost is higher - and the 320 does NOT cost less to operate than the 737NG. Fact.
In 10 years time I predict that the 737NG will still have less fatalities than the A320. Remember that Airbus now has a plant in China, which is a step backwards for safety and quality in my opinion.
Australian television last week;
http://au.video.yahoo.com/watch/6221199/16149466
How many were pilot error?
60 737 crashes. 8 A320 crashes. 1 in 52 737s have crashed. 1 in 463 A320s have crashed. And A320s are more comfortable. Lets look at the real maths not hype for Boeing.
Like didnt a A320 crash just after delivery once?
Oh Paul PLEASE!! The 737 model has been flying for TWENTY YEARS LONGER than the 320 series so your figures give the 320 a 20 year handicap. How about putting 320/321 statistics alongside the 737NG statistics, that would be a much fairer comparison, and you won't decide to choose an Airbus.
The fact is, whether one's preference is for Airbus or Boeing, this debate wouldn't even be happening if the Boeing had been chosen - people don't debate a Boeing's safety or customer appeal.
I just saw a new Tuis Billboard. It says;
"Airbus air data computer is safe"
I second that. You're comparing the entire 737 family (the most operated commercial aircraft in the world) with the airbus A320 (not even its unsafe siblings the A318/9 and A321). Boeing focus on building aircraft that are safe, reliable and efficient instead of fancy FBW and GPWS systems that don't function correctly. Just have a look at Air France Flight 296 which crashed after being newly delivered, as pointed out.
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