AIR Niugini is securing a second Boeing aircraft, which is expected to be put into service on international routes next month.
The B757-200 will be leased from Loftleidir Icelandic, Minister for Public Enterprises Arthur Somare said in a statement yesterday.
Air Niugini has bought a B767 from Air Brunei to replace a similar aircraft. However, it has not taken delivery of the aircraft yet and is operating a leased B767 from Viva Macau for the time being.
Mr Somare said that Air Niugini would have a fleet of two Boeings for international flights, six F100s and six Dash 8s by next month.
He said the airline sold one of its two A310 aircraft 10 years ago which adversely affected its operations.
Mr Somare said that as of August this year, the number of passengers on international routes had increased by 5%.
Growth in the Asian sectors was up 10% while domestic sectors grew by 15%, which he described as “quite significant” compared to other operations in the region.
Mr Somare said the market for wide-body aircraft had changed significantly within the last two years due mainly to the delay in the rollout of the A380 aircraft from the manufacturer, Airbus.
He said this had affected airlines which had ordered the aircraft and had planned to lease out their existing planes.
“This placed pressure on Air Niugini in the last two years to find a suitable aircraft on the market to replace its lease arrangements previously with the B767,” he said.
Mr Somare was confident that with the additional aircraft, Air Niugini would achieve operational efficiency and also handle the additional traffic during the Christmas period.

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