A new era dawns for PNG’s flag carrier

The A220 aircraft in the assembly line (Image: Air Niugini)

Air Niugini’s first brand new A220, dubbed the “People’s Balus”, has now entered final assembly at the Airbus Canada factory at Mirabel, Montreal. The aircraft is planned for delivery to Port Moresby in September, coinciding with Papua New Guinea’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations.

Air Niugini will be the 25th airline to operate the state of the art A220, with over 900 of these latest technology jets having been ordered by 24 other airlines around the world, of which over 400 are already in operation.

Air Niugini’s eleven brand new A220s will come in two variants – three A220-300 series seating 138 customers, and eight smaller A220-100 series with 114 seats, for a total of eleven aircrafts.

The A220s will initially replace the airline’s long serving Fokker 100/70 fleet on domestic routes, and eventually the Boeing 737s as well. Whilst the initial focus is to upgrade domestic services, the A220 is also capable of servicing all Air Niugini international destinations as well as some potential new routes which the airline is studying.

The Air Niugini F100 above will be phased out (Image: Air Niugini)

All the A220 aircraft will be fitted with comfortable Business and Economy seating and will offer complimentary WiFi for all customers so they can stream their favorite programs and keep in touch with family, friends, and work while they are travelling.

Air Niugini engineers, cabin crew and pilots have commenced intensive training, with the airline progressing through a comprehensive entry into service program to be ready to welcome the new aircraft during the first week of September.

We look forward to bringing you more updates as our new “Birds of Paradise” continue to take shape prior to their arrival on our shores from September this year.