Dash to end era of Saab at Air NZ

Air NZ has taken delivery of the first of 15 Canadian turbo-prop planes on which it plans to spend $350 million.

The 15 Bombardier Dash Q300 planes will replace the 17 Saab planes used by its regional airline, Air Nelson, and boost passenger capacity up to 60 per cent.

Air NZ is also spending another $1.35 billion on 10 Boeing aircraft, including a pair of new 7E7 Dreamliners.

The next two aircraft are already being built and Air New Zealand expects to introduce one every six weeks, phasing out the old Saabs in 2007.

The plane is due to start operations in the middle of next month.

Air New Zealand said the new plane's noise and vibration suppression system would mean journeys were quieter than in the Saabs. Some passengers had described the Saabs as noisy and cramped, with very little storage space and a low ceiling.

- NZPA