Air New Zealand’s network and capacity are recovering at “extraordinary speed”, having returned to about 91% of pre-Covid, with steady bookings.
Capacity on Air New Zealand’s Asia network is running at an extraordinary 117% of pre-Covid levels.
The airline’s chief executive, Greg Foran, delivered the good news at TRENZ in Ōtautahi Christchurch yesterday.
“Reopening the borders was supposed to happen reasonably slowly, but it didn’t,” Foran said.
“You’ll recall the starts, then semi-starts pauses, stops, and restarts again.
“We have aimed to get every available seat safely in the air, even if it has stretched us operationally. We have not held anything back.
“Within 14 days of the total border reopening, we relaunched 16 routes. In September, we landed in New York for the first time and by October, we were back flying to 29 international destinations – the last being Chicago. We’re now at 30, having returned to Bali in March.
“We’ve rehired 3,000 staff, bought back our seven 777s, and invested in new turboprops and jets to add more seats on the Domestic network.
“All with just a few months’ notice.
“Despite all this, demand still exceeded our expectations – and we acknowledge we didn’t get it right every time. 12 million passengers flew with us this financial year – up 144% on last year. Since the borders reopened, we’ve carried 825,000 international passengers. Around a third of them flew onto our regional network.
“Our network and our capacity have recovered at an extraordinary speed. We’re conscious that more seats leads to more affordable pricing.”
Foran said that Air NZ had 4.5 million seats on its international network between March and October, about 91% of pre-Covid capacity.
“Capacity on our North American network is close to pre-Covid levels. We’re flying more seats from Houston, San Francisco and Vancouver.
“Our New York route is unique and has demonstrated strong demand. Later this year, our alliance partner United Airlines will fly San Francisco-Christchurch and Los Angeles-Auckland, further growing North America’s capacity.
“Capacity on our Asia network has never been better – now at 117% of pre-Covid levels. Singapore continues to be key, particularly for connecting to India and Europe.
“Demand out of China is rebuilding slowly but surely – and we’re back to flying Shanghai daily. Our alliance partner Air China restarted Beijing-Auckland earlier this month.
“Capacity on our Tasman and Pacific Island network is also nearing 2019 levels.
“Domestically, we’re back to pre-Covid levels. Over the summer, we added 15,000 seats every week. Here in Christchurch, we’ve added 5000 seats a week as we fly more often to Tauranga, Napier and Nelson. We also boosted regional flights out of Auckland and to our main centres.
“We’ve carried 250,000 customers on our three new domestic jets since they started flying last year. We also have a full complement of Turboprops which means more flights into tourism hot spots like Rotorua, Kerikeri, Napier, Nelson and Blenheim.”
Commenting that it was “good to be back in the black”, Foran said Air NZ was investing NZ$3.5 billion in new aircraft and retrofitting its fleet over the next five years.
“This includes eight new 787 Dreamliners as we retire our 777s over time and five extra short-haul jets adding more seats on our Tasman and Pacific Island services.
“And we’re retrofitting our existing 14 Boeing 787s with our new Business Premier Luxe and refreshed cabins. That work starts later next year.
Our first new 787 is due at the end of next year and will include our innovative Skynest. We’ll add Skynest to our ultra-long-haul flights, starting with Auckland – New York and Auckland – Chicago.
“We’re in final negotiations on leasing another 777 – another 3000 seats a week.
Attracting visitors to New Zealand.
Foran confirmed that Air NZ would spend NZ$30 million on marketing campaigns in key markets “targeting high-quality visitors so they choose New Zealand over anywhere else”.
“We’re also rebuilding our offshore marketing teams and adding back presence in key markets. Our relationship with Tourism New Zealand is one of our most important marketing partnerships. Teaming up makes every dollar go further to raise destination awareness and it was great to re-sign our MOU last year to promote New Zealand offshore.”
Customer proposition and innovation.
Foran said Air NZ had reviewed snacks on board, revamped menus, rolled out more sustainable serviceware, adjusted seat offerings, and transformed its Loyalty and Customer Care platforms.
“We’re now looking at our award-winning lounges and delivering more value for our most loyal customers. And we want to be the world’s leading digital airline.
“Our new app will smooth the journey through airports and give customers more control – from tracking their bag to choosing their entertainment and meals before they fly.”
The carrier is exploring biometrics in US airports, and its new FlightKeys software provides more accurate and faster flight plans, reducing carbon emissions.
Carbon reduction is significant.
“The Climate Crisis is an existential threat to tourism,” Foran said. “We need to decarbonise our business as quickly as we can.
“In 2020, we committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – we’ve called it Flight NZ0. It will take every lever we have – including Sustainable Aviation Fuel, flight operation efficiencies and zero-emissions aircraft technology.
“We’ve partnered with some of the world’s leading aviation innovators to explore how we replace our Q300 turboprop fleet with alternative fuels or technology. Even before then, expect to see an electric aircraft gracing our skies in 2026 as we begin the journey in earnest.
“New Zealand is uniquely placed to test ideas, and Air New Zealand is the perfect airline to test them.”
Answering questions from the floor, Foran conceded that attaining “zero carbon” status was challenging. It would ultimately involve hydrogen, electric aircraft and sustainable aviation fuel.
Sustainable aviation fuel was currently about three or four times more expensive than regular aviation fuel, Foran noted.
Written by: Peter Needham
