Air New Zealand has confirmed the purchase of an
additional four Boeing 787-9 aircraft to meet its growth plans over the
next decade. General Manager Strategic Development Nathan Agnew says that with this
order Air New Zealand has now confirmed the purchase of a total of eight
787-9 aircraft and has secured options over eight further production
slots giving the airline access to sixteen of these new generation
aircraft over the coming decade.

Following on from the launch of the new Auckland Shanghai service in
November and the second daily service from Auckland to London over Hong
Kong, Mr Agnew said that Air New Zealand is committed to a growth
strategy and todays announcement ensures that Air New Zealand will be
equipped with the latest and most fuel efficient aircraft of their type
to pursue further growth.

Air New Zealand is the launch customer for Boeings 787-9 aircraft, with
the first aircraft due to be introduced into service in 2011 and the
last of the eight aircraft purchased to date being delivered in 2013. As
the launch customer Air New Zealand is working closely with the Boeing
design team on the specification and development of the 787-9.

Mr Agnew says the four additional 787-9s have a list price of around
NZ$1 billion but the airline achieved a significant discount on this
when it was one of the first airlines in the world to commit to the 787
programme.

These new aircraft will provide Air New Zealand with a solid platform to
realise its growth ambitions over the next decade. Given their
capability to fly direct to regions like South Africa, India, South
America, Asia and deep into China and North America, we will have some
exciting new opportunities to pursue, Mr Agnew says.

Over the past year a tremendous amount of analysis and research has been
underway to identify those markets that offer Air New Zealand
significant potential for growth during the next ten years. This has
highlighted some really interesting opportunities and we are really
excited about the prospect of being able to further boost tourism and
trade between New Zealand and new destinations.

Mr Agnew says Air New Zealand is committed to launching at least one new
international route every year and it expects to announce a new addition
to its network within the next few months.

We are confident New Zealand travellers and businesses will be excited
about the new destination, which we aim to have operating before the end
of 2007.

Mr Agnew says an important benefit of the 787-9 is its fuel efficiency,
with a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption when compared with
similar aircraft flying today.
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