New Zealand Post said it will introduce three Boeing 737-400 freighters to replace its current fleet of one B737-300F and two Fokker F27 Friendships, to boost its overnight delivery services for packets and parcels.
In a statement, the company said the aircraft were expected to be available for its Express Couriers Ltd (ECL) business from May 2016 and would operate between Auckland, Palmerston North and
Christchurch, linking in with New Zealand Post’s nationwide processing, road line-haul and delivery networks from these locations.
New Zealand Post chief executive, Brian Roche said the fleet change would be important for the company’s growing express parcels and packets business as well as bringing cost savings.
Freighters will be leased
The new 737-400 freighters will offer a payload of 17,800kg each, compared to 15,000kg in the existing 737-300 aircraft and just 4,800kg in the Fokker F27 aircraft.
New Zealand Post will lease the new aircraft through a joint venture between Airworks Flight Operations Ltd, which is the current airline services supplier for ECL, and Freightways subsidiary
Fieldair Holdings Ltd.
The new aircraft will also be used by Freightways, expanding the existing load-sharing air freight partnership between the two companies.
Nol van Fenema
Write a comment