The academy owns four Tecnam P2008 single-engine planes and leases one multi-engine Tecnam P2006 aircraft.
Two more of the former have been ordered and are expected to arrive in mid-January, shortly after the first group of AirAsia India cadets arrive for training in early to mid-December.
The academy signed a training deal with budget carrier and Harrison Omniview Consulting in May to bring 50 trainee pilots to New Zealand in the agreement's first year.
New Zealand Airline Academy head of training Celroy Mascarenhas said the first intake was likely to be about 20 students.
The deal was a key reason behind the academy's investment in the new aircraft, he said.
''It's something we've always had in mind, which is to grow at a stable rate. We had imposed a cap on ourselves for 30 students for the first year and the reason for that was we never had a shortage of students, with the other flying schools we have supported as well.
''We just didn't want to grow too big, too soon and crumble under our own weight. We decided to ... grow in a phased manner.''
The AirAsia India cadets have recently completed exams and are applying for visas, or have had them approved.
When they arrive in Oamaru the course they will undertake is virtually the same as the one eight students recently graduated from with commercial pilot licences, but with an emphasis on certain aspects.
''They want to ensure their students are more airline-ready when they come out of their training. Our aeroplanes are state-of-the-art touch-screen glass cockpit, which means our students are used to that from day one, so it's a smooth transition from the commercial licence training to the cockpit.''
In India, major airlines will need an estimated 10,000 new pilots by 2030.
