Air NZ says chooses Boeing for fleet upgrade = = = = Tuesday June 1, 7:38 PM EDT = AUCKLAND, June 2 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd (AIR) said on Wednesday = it would acquire eight new Boeing Co (BA) 777-200 ER planes and two Boein= g 7E7 aircraft, with the rights to purchase a further 42 long-haul aircra= ft. Four of the new Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft will be purchased and the othe= r four leased from International Lease Finance Corporation, a unit of Ame= rican International Group Inc. (AIG), the airline said in a statement. "The cost of the four aircraft and the necessary infrastructure to mainta= in the fleet of eight is in excess of NZ$1 billion," Air NZ said. All of the aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce (RR) engines. The aircraft will be used on Air NZ's long-haul services. The airline cur= rently uses Boeing 767s and 747s on those routes. Air NZ announced in 2002 it would acquire 15 Airbus A320 planes, with pur= chase rights on a further 20 aircraft, to replace the Boeing fleet flying= its short-haul international services. Shares in Air NZ, majority owned by the New Zealand government, were put = on a trading halt ahead of the announcement. They closed on Tuesday at $0.41, compared with a year high of $0.64 and a= low of $0.38. ($1=3DNZ$1.59) = =A92004 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS