Air New Zealand has welcomed its thirtieth ATR plane, an ATR 72-600, into its regional operation.

Coming into service this week (Jan 16), the plane operated its first scheduled flight from Christchurch to Invercargill.

Air New Zealand’s Basic Supervisor of Technique, Networks, and Fleet, Baden Smith, mentioned the arrival of the newest ATR is a beneficial addition to the airline’s companies within the area.

“The ATR is a implausible plane and the spine of our home community for regional prospects,” he mentioned.

“It performs exceptionally effectively in New Zealand’s distinctive working circumstances with its gas effectivity, reliability, and skill to entry smaller airports.

“The plane’s versatility ensures we will keep a strong and resilient service, connecting our communities throughout the motu effectively.”

Smith mentioned the brand new plane additionally enhances the resilience of the airline’s regional community.

“Introducing our thirtieth ATR into service is a milestone for Air New Zealand,” he mentioned. “The addition of this plane will present very important assist for our turboprop fleet serving to present upkeep flexibility and serving to keep the reliability of our companies for regional prospects.”

This new ATR options the Pratt and Whitney PW127XT engine, which is designed to ship an estimated 3% gas financial savings in comparison with its predecessor.

That is Air New Zealand’s first ATR72-600 with this engine kind and the airline additionally has one other ATR on order, scheduled to reach in mid-2025.

The airline has a strong historical past of working ATR 72-600 plane, with the primary having taken off for the airline 13 years in the past in 2012.

Throughout this time, Air New Zealand’s fleet of ATRs has helped to spice up the airline’s regional community flying an estimated 33.2 million Air New Zealand prospects on over 610,809 flights.