By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--The first Boeing Co. (BA) 787-9
Dreamliner to be produced should arrive at its New Zealand
destination in around 10 months.
Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR.NZ) expects to take delivery of the
plane next June, and should be flying passengers in it before the
end of that year, the company's chief executive, Christopher Luxon,
said Thursday.
"We're making very good progress. The aircraft has been
produced. It's come out of the hangar and it is expected to
commence test flying next month and we expect to take delivery of
the first aircraft in June next year," he said.
Boeing announced last week that it had completed its first 787-9
and said flight testing of the plane would begin later in the
American summer. The plane is 20 feet longer than Boeing's already
launched 787-8, is able to carry 40 more passengers and can fly
longer distances.
A Boeing spokesman said that the plane was expected to be
certified in spring, and delivery was planned for mid-2014.
Air New Zealand initially ordered two Dreamliner 787-9s in June
2004--back when they were called Dreamliner 7E7s--expecting to take
delivery in December 2010. However, the manufacturing process was
beset with problems and delays, forcing Air New Zealand to extend
the life of its existing fleet. In addition, Boeing had to pay the
company an undisclosed amount of compensation for the delays.
Mr. Luxon said he was now confident that the planes would begin
to arrive next year, "after a long period of delays."
"It's quite exciting. It's a gamechanging aircraft. It's not
going to just transform the economics of our business because it
has 20% more fuel efficiency and more cargo capacity, but it's a
much more enhanced passenger experience," he said.
Air New Zealand now has 10 Dreamliner 787-9s on order and plans
to fly them on its Shanghai, Tokyo, Perth, Honolulu and Papeete
routes. Its current investment strategy will see it spend 1.8
billion New Zealand dollars (US$1.4 billion) on aircraft over the
next three years, including orders for two Boeing 777-300s, nine
Airbus A320s and four ATR72-600s.
The investment comes against a background of continued success
for Air New Zealand. Earlier Thursday the company announced that
fiscal 2013 was its most successful since the global financial
crisis in 2008, with net profit rising sharply to $182 million New
Zealand dollars from NZ$71 million a year earlier.
"As the board looks to the coming year, certainly the business
is in good shape," Mr. Palmer said. "...early results and forward
bookings are encouraging."
Write to Lucy Craymer at lucy.craymer@wsj.com
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