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Aircalin firms A330/A320neo order
October 13th 2017
Noumea-headquartered Aircalin on Wednesday firmed up its order for two A330-900neo and two single aisle A320neo. Read More » The carrier told Orient Aviation the four on-order neo aircraft will replace its A330ceo and A320ceo fleet one-for-one. The airline said the A330neo will be delivered in May and July 2019, respectively. The smaller A320neo will arrive in French Polynesia in May 2020 and February 2021.
Aircalin’s A330neo will be powered by Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000s. It will have 26 seats in “Hibiscus Class” business class, 21 in premium economy and 244 in economy. The aircraft will fly Noumea-Narita “between five and seven times a week” and Noumea and Osaka twice a week “depending on the season”, Aircalin told Orient Aviation.
The A320neo will be powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000Gs and will have a low-density 168-seat configuration: eight in “Hibiscus Class” and 160 in economy. They will fly regional routes to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
“Investing in our new fleet of modern efficient aircraft reduces our environmental impact thanks to lower fuel burn and allows Aircalin to reduce operating costs too. Equipped with the latest technology the aircraft will drive Aircalin’s strategy forward in Asia Pacific as well as its ambition to promote the development of tourism in New Caledonia”, said Aircalin CEO, Didier Tappero.
“It is a pleasure to see Aircalin modernising its fleet with our latest generation single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft. The A330neo and A320neo will enable Aircalin to offer its customers unprecedented levels of comfort,” said John Leahy, COO Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Aircalin will benefit from the unique commonality between all variants of the Airbus Family and enjoy efficiencies throughout its existing fleet,” Leahy added.
Airbus last week told Orient Aviation its first A330neo, an A330-900, has been handed over to the flight test team in preparation for a first flight “within the next few weeks”. The A330neo’s maiden flight was initially expected to take place in late September, but the late arrival of the aircraft’s power plants, Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000s, caused a delay.
The A330 was originally scheduled to enter service with launch customer, TAP Portugal, at the end of the year, but delivery has been postponed to the first quarter of 2018.
Airbus is working on increasing the -900s range from 6,550nm to 7,000nm to better compete with rival Boeing’s popular B787-9. The A330-900neo is scheduled to perform its maiden flight on October 18 in Toulouse.
