Air New Zealand chooses Boeing to order its large aircraft: sources

PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing Co has won a hotly contested competition for the sale of wide-body aircraft to Air New Zealand Ltd against a challenge by Airbus in Europe, industry sources said Monday.

The carrier, which currently only uses Boeing jumbo jets on long-haul routes and single-aisle Airbus aircraft on shorter aircraft, weighed heavily on the purchase of new wide-body aircraft to replace eight Boeing 777-200ERs.

Air New Zealand, Boeing and Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The airline has announced that it is examining the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X or 787, with the aim of launching longer routes like Auckland-New York and Auckland-Brazil.

Air New Zealand chief financial officer Jeff McDowall said at a meeting of analysts in March that a decision on the purchase of the plane should be made in the coming months, but that the airline would have need fewer replacement jets than originally planned in 2023 due to network changes.

The airline launched a two-year cost reduction program in March, and deferred aircraft capital expenditures of approximately NZ $ 750 million ($ 490.1 million) as part of a review of its activity.

In February, it reduced domestic rates by 50%, resulting in a drastic change in its fare structure in response to the slowdown in the travel market.