National carrier Air New Zealand will buy 14 new Airbus A320s at a cost of around USD$1 billion to replace its domestic fleet of Boeing 737-300s, the airline said Tuesday.
The A320s would begin arriving in January 2011 and be delivered progressively until 2016 to coincide with the expiry of the 737-300 leases, Air New Zealand said.
Shares in Air NZ, which is around 76 percent owned by the New Zealand government, last traded down a cent or 0.8 percent at NZD$1.27. So far this year the stock has gained around 38 percent compared with a 17 percent rise in the benchmark NZSX-50 index.
*Reuters