Australian airline Qantas has added a new Boeing 737-800 to its existing fleet.
The 737-800, Qantas's 75th 737, has a typical cruise speed of Mach 0.78 and can fly to a range of 3,060nm carrying up to 189 passengers.
The aircraft delivered to Qantas has been customised with 2.5m-high blended winglets to reduce fuel burn and increase range and payload.
The new-generation aircraft will serve the carrier's trans-Tasman route between New Zealand and Australia and has been named in honour of Jean Batten, a New Zealand aviator who broke numerous flying records in the 1930s.
Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said that they would be adding six of these aircraft to their trans-Tasman fleet over the next two years, the first three of which would be delivered before the end of 2009.
