Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua New Guinea, has placed a firm order for six Airbus A220-100s. The carrier will also acquire three A220-300s and two more A220-100s on lease from a third party lessor as part of their fleet modernization program.
On Wednesday (November 1, 2023), Airbus announced that Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua, New Guinea, placed a firm order for six Airbus A220-100s, as part of their fleet modernization program. The carrier will also acquire three Airbus A220-300s and two more A220-100s from a third party lessor. The order was announced at a special event in Port Moresby led by Air Niugini’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Gary Seddon and Airbus’ President Asia-Pacific, in the presence of the Honorable James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, and the Honorable William Duma, Minister of State Enterprises.
In Wednesday’s order announcement, Air Niugini’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Gary Seddon, said,
“This is a milestone in the history of our national airline that will support the growth of trade and tourism in Papua New Guinea. The new aircraft will offer the highest levels of comfort for our passengers, while also ensuring a significant reduction in fuel consumption and emissions when compared to the aircraft they will replace.” Also commenting on the order, Papua New Guinea’s Minister for State Enterprises, Hon. William Duma, said,
“This is a momentous occasion for Air Niugini. Coinciding with the airline’s 50th Anniversary, Air Niugini secures six new regional jets that will revolutionise travel for the citizens of Papua New Guinea. I am looking forward to welcoming the ‘People’s Balus’ (the people’s plane) to our skies.” Airbus’ Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International, Christian Scherer, added,
“Air Niugini has seen how much more the A220 brings to their airline than the competing product in this space, so much more efficiency, range, comfort and growth potential. We thank Air Niugini for its confidence in Airbus and are committed to offering our full support to the airline as it transitions to its new fleet.”
Offering the longest range, lowest fuel consumption and widest cabin in the 100-150 seat class, Air Niugini will deploy their new A220s across domestic and regional routes, including new destinations from Port Moresby across the Asia-Pacific region. The aircraft has a range of up to 3,450 nautical miles (6,390km) and can accommodate 100-135 passengers. The larger A220-300 can accommodate 120-150 passengers. The A220 Family is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation GTF™ engines, offering a 25 percent reduction in fuel burn and lower CO2 emissions per seat compared to previous generation aircraft.
Air Niugini has also selected the flight planning support system from Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE. Called ‘N-Flight Planning’, the solution will help the carrier optimize fuel, time and cost, while ensuring overall safety and compliance.
As of September 30, 2023, Airbus has received more than 800 A220 orders from around 30 global customers, of which more than 280 have been delivered. The aircraft is currently in service with 17 airlines worldwide.
Source: Airbus
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