Are the 72-500's that old? Surely they are still under 10 years at this point? IIRC,
Mt Cook originally purchased 72-200s and then through some arcane means managed to swap them out with new build 72-500s a short time later. At any rate the ones I have been flying in still seem rather clean and fresh.
I am guessing these will not spell the end of the Q300 or the B1900 in the NZ regional fleets though. From what I have seen, regional air travel in NZ is still expanding steadily.
I really hope this influx has no effect on the
Air Chathams CV.580s though. I'm still aiming for a trip or two on one of them someday!
