Air Niugini getting 787s

Papua New Guinea's national carrier Air Niugini just keeps on adding aircraft.
A few years ago this state-owned carrier was losing money hand over fist but thanks to strong demand for domestic air services and relatively little competition on international routes it has become profitable.
And it appears to be using its new-found financial strength to invest in newer aircraft.
Today I did an interview with a well-placed source of mine at the airline.
The source says Air Niugini has decided to order the Boeing 787 and is also working to get a Boeing 767-300ER and Embraer 190 on lease.
In addition, it has just bought three more Bombardier Dash 8s and is working to buy two more Fokker 100s, says the source.
He says the 787 deal will definitely go through because the carrier has already paid Boeing a deposit.
He says Air Niugini plans to buy two 787-9s and representatives from Boeing are in Port Moresby today to help the carrier decide on operating specifications.
Other issues that still need to be worked out are delivery slots.
Boeing has put Air Niugini down for first deliveries in 2015 but the airline is pushing Boeing hard for an earlier delivery slot, says the source.
I suggested that the delay in the 787 programme might make it hard for the aircraft-maker to appease the airline.
(Boeing has been aiming to deliver the first aircraft to launch customer All Nippon Airways at the end of this year but Boeing hasn't even powered up the first test aircraft yet so the latest estimate by analysts is that the first aircraft delivered to ANA might be delayed to September 2009).
But the delay in the 787 programme appears not to have fazed my source at Air Niugini. He says once Boeing starts producing 787s it can ramp up production. The hope is this will mean Air Niugini will receive its first 787 before 2015.
Currently, Air Niugini is maintaining international services using an Airbus A310 on short-term wet-lease from Portuguese carrier White Airways.
The A310 was needed because an earlier deal “went sour” on the purchase of an ex-Royal Brunei Airways 767-300ER, says the source.
Air Niugini was planning to buy the 767-300ER from Hong Kong firm Aerospace Finance Asia and receive the aircraft last October.
The source says Air Niugini “in a couple more months” will instead receive a 767-300ER on “damp lease” from Loftleidir Icelandic, by which time it will return the A310.
Air Niugini currently also has a one-year wet-lease on a Boeing 757 from Loftleidir Icelandic and has extended it for another one year, says the source.
While Air Niugini’s long-haul fleet is set to change dramatically, the airline is also making changes to its short-haul fleet.
Next month the airline will start wet-leasing an E-190 from Australia’s SkyAirWorld for a four-times-weekly non-stop service from Port Moresby to Brisbane and Sydney, says the source.
Currently Air Niugini operates on the Port Moresby-Brisbane-Sydney routing using a 767 because Sydney traffic on its own is unable to support a 767, says the source.
The E-190 is due to come in the first week of April but it will take time for SkyAirWorld to secure a foreign air operator’s certificate from the Papuan New Guinean authorities so it is more likely to start in the second or third week of April, adds the source.
Air Niugini has also been operating Fokker 100s to Australia and currently has six in total but is returning one in May on lease from Australia’s Alliance Air.
The source says Air Niugini’s CEO, Wasantha Kunarasiri, is in Dubai today to negotiate the purchase of one or two Fokker 100s.
And the source also says the airline recently purchased three Bombardier Dash 8s from German carrier Cirrus Airlines.
One is a -300, which has since arrived in Papua New Guinea, and the other two are -100s that will soon be delivered to Air Niugini, adds the source.