Papua New Guinea National Carrier Modernizing Fleet

Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua New Guinea, has signed a firm order with Airbus for six latest generation single aisle A220-100s under its fleet modernization program. In addition, the carrier will acquire three A220-300s and another two A220-100s from third party lessors.

The order was announced at a special event in Port Moresby by Gary Seddon, Acting Chief Executive Officer Air Niugini and Anand Stanley, President Airbus Asia-Pacific, in the presence of the Hon. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Hon. William Duma, Minister for State Enterprises.

Combining the longest range, lowest fuel consumption and widest cabin in the 100-150 seat category, the A220 will be operated by Air Niugini across its domestic and regional network. The new fleet will deliver more capacity and greater reliability across the domestic network and enable the carrier to fly from capital Port Moresby to new destinations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Gary Seddon, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Air Niugini 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.”

Minister 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 revolutionize 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”.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International, said: “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.”

Air Niugini also announced that it has selected a flight planning support system from Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE for its fleet. Called N-Flight Planning (N-FP), the solution will help the airline optimize on fuel, time and cost to meet operational needs, while ensuring overall safety and compliance.

The A220 is the most modern airliner in its size category, carrying between 100 to 150 passengers on flights of up to 3,4500-nautical miles. Depending on cabin configuration, the A220-100 serves the 100-135 seat market, while the larger A220-300 is perfectly tailored for the 120-150 seat market.

The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation Geared Turbo-Fan (GTF) engines. Offering 25-percent lower fuel burn and CO2 emissions per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, the A220 also has the largest cabin, seats and windows in its class, ensuring superior comfort.

As with all Airbus aircraft, the A220 is already able to operate with up to fifty-percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus aims for all its aircraft to be capable of operating with one-hundred-percent SAF by 2030.

By way of A220 sales, Airbus, at the end of September 2023, had received over eight-hundred orders from some thirty customers for the model. To date, more than 280 A220s have been delivered. Worldwide, the aircraft is in service with 17 airlines.

FMI: www.airbus.com