Industry ATR and Air New Zealand team up to explore future regional aviation ecosystems

The agreement was signed at ATR´s headquarters at Toulouse, France. Both companies will work together and will use their assets to explore the role of new propulsion technologies. Eventually, these technologies could play a role in the future of the regional aircraft ecosystem.

ATR and Air New Zealand will investigate the development of new solutions. Simultaneously, the companies will take a look at the required systems that are needed to support these solutions. Systems are for example airport and regulatory infrastructure, ground and flight operations as well as maintenance.

Under the agreement, the companies furthermore seek the exploration of hybrid aircraft solutions, which could possibly form the ecosystem of regional aviation in the future.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon: “Hybrid aircraft are expected to enter the market in the next decade or so. Depending on when hybrid and electric technologies become available for larger turbo-prop aircraft, we believe there is potential for these to be a viable option for our regional network.”

ATR Chief Executive Officer Stefan Bortoli added: “Hybrid and electric aircraft clearly are in that way forward. The combination of ATR and Air New Zealand jointly exploring the huge opportunities and implications on the whole regional aviation ecosystem is the perfect team. This will be a unique benchmark for the industry and for New Zealand and we look forward to starting this exciting project together.”

Especially in its home country, Air New Zealand has established a dense network of regional routes between various cities. Under the brand name Air New Zealand Link, two regional airlines operate feeder flights for Air New Zealand. Together, the Link fleet consists of 28 ATR 72 aircraft and 23 De Havilland Dash 8.

Air New Zealand´s mainline operates with 62 aircraft, including 30 Airbus A320s, one A321neo, 18 Boeing 777s and 13 787 Dreamliners. The airline is the flag-carrier of New Zealand and member of the Star Alliance. 52 destinations are being served in 20 countries.

Recently, the carrier took delivery of its first A321neo aircraft. Registered as ZK-NNA, the aircraft received the iconic all-blacks livery. Air New Zealand will take delivery of further A321neos in the coming months.