Air Niugini Orders The Airbus A220

Air Niugini has announced a deal with Airbus to formally order the A220 series for future fleet plans.

A220 Officially Ordered

Air Niugini has ordered six Airbus A220-100s directly from the manufacturer as part of its growth plans.

Meanwhile, it will acquire three Airbus A220-300s and two A220-100s from third-party lessors. This will increase its future reliance on the popular single-aisle type.

Air Niugini plans to operate Airbus A220s across its domestic and regional networks.

The company believes that, thanks to its commitment to the jet, it’ll be able to deliver greater capacity and operational reliability across its network.

While the Air Niugini network is expansive, adding the A220 will open up new route possibilities from its capital, Port Moresby. The focus will be on new possible destinations towards the Asia-Pacific region.

Comments From Executives

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.

Gary Seddon, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Air Niugini

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.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International

The Airbus A220’s Performance

Airbus says its A220 is the most modern airliner in its size category and can carry 100 to 150 passengers on flights up to 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 kilometres).

The A220-100 can serve the 100-135 seat market. Meanwhile, the larger A220-300 targets the 120-150-seat market. Ultimately, this will also depend on the respective airline’s configuration of the type.

Pratt & Whitney powers the Airbus A220s with their latest-generation GTF engines. These engines offer customers lower fuel burn and better CO2 emissions per seat than older types.

The Air Niugini Fleet

Air Niugini operates 12 in-service aircraft spread across multiple aircraft types.

However, its largest fleet type by active units is the Fokker 100, with four operational units. The Fokker 70 follows, with four units also in service.

It currently flies only the 767-300ER series, with two aircraft in service. However, adding two 787-8s will allow it to replace the 767s in the future.

Ultimately, over the next decade, the Air Niugini fleet will undergo a significant overhaul and modernisation.