Air New Zealand orders up to 12 ATRs for regional expansion

Air New Zealand announced (19-Oct-2011) it has order seven ATR72-600s with five options, worth USD270 million. CEO Rob Fyfe expects the order to "significantly boost" connections to regional areas in New Zealand. The airline expects the first 68-seat ATR to be delivered in Oct-2012, with all seven on firm order to be delivered by 2016. The five purchase options are available for delivery between 2014 and 2016. "This order potentially doubles the size of Air New Zealand's ATR fleet and will put a further two million seats into the New Zealand regional market annually, Mr Fyfe said. [more - original PR]