Air NZ to replace domestic fleet with A320s 

National carrier Air New Zealand is replacing its entire domestic fleet of Boeing 737-300s with Airbus craft.

Air New Zealand on Tuesday said 14 new A320s will take the place of 15 Boeing aircraft by 2016 when the 737-300 leases run out.

The airline did not say how much the deal was worth, but did say that it had secured a discount on the aircrafts' list price of over $US1 billion ($NZ1.39 billion).

The company's group manager for short haul Bruce Parton says the company had been considering replacements for the 737-300s over the last eight months.

"This is a very good time to buy aircraft. The industry is at the bottom of a deep cycle so demand for aircraft is limited, creating strong conditions for buyers with strong balance sheets like Air New Zealand," he says.

Parton says the company's existing 12 A320 aircraft were performing well and it made sense to move to a single aisle aircraft that delivered efficiencies in fuel burn and maintenance.

Air New Zealand says the A320s, with around 171 seats compared with the 133-seat 737-300s, will ease capacity constraints at some airports.

The first A320 is expected to arrive in January 2011.

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