• 

  Air New Zealand

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  NZ/ANZ

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport, Wellington Airport

  Year Founded:

  1965

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Greg Foran

  Country:

  New Zealand

  Region:

  Oceania

An easing of strict border rules and more people in the air is beginning to have a material impact on Air New Zealand's bottom line. Late last week, the Auckland-based airline reported it would lose less money than previously predicted this financial year. Air New Zealand had flagged losses of NZ$800 million in the 12 months to March 31, 2023. They are now revising that down to NZ$750 million (US$475 million).

Reopened borders mean more passengers and more revenue for Air New Zealand

New Zealand now allows its citizens to come and go freely, provided they are fully vaccinated. The country has also reopened its borders to travelers from some 60 countries and will begin welcoming everyone else by the start of August. Air New Zealand typically generates two-thirds of its revenue from international flying, so two years of closed borders have significantly curtailed the airline's operations and financial performance.

"The airline continues to see strong passenger booking activity on short-haul and international services following the opening of the New Zealand border. Domestic demand has also improved in recent weeks with business-related demand returning to approximately 90% of pre-COVID levels," an update to the New Zealand stock exchange on Friday said. "The airline now expects its FY2022 full year result to be a loss before other significant items and taxation of less than $750 million.

"The airline remains mindful that the macroeconomic environment continues to be uncertain with disruptions caused by the impact of COVID variants, continued travel restrictions in some markets, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine contributing to high jet fuel prices."

Air New Zealand's long-haul routes start to recover

Friday's announcement was the second time this year Air New Zealand has reduced its predicted loss. Earlier in the year, the airline was flagging losses in the 2022 financial year of more than NZ$800 million. In March, when releasing interim financial results for the 2021 financial year, Air New Zealand said losses for the 2022 financial year would settle at around the $800 million mark. Friday's announcement trimmed a further $50 million off that figure.

Air New Zealand's key Australian market is open to fully vaccinated travelers, and traffic on the routes between the two countries has roared back to life, pumping some much-needed dollars into Air New Zealand's coffers. Elsewhere, there are signs of life on those lucrative long-haul routes to and from Auckland.

Air New Zealand is resuming daily flights on the AKL - LAX route next month (increasing to 10 flights a week over August and September), while they'll be flying to five destinations in the US and Canada by September. In addition to Los Angeles, Air New Zealand's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will be touching down in Honolulu (HNL), Houston (IAH), San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), and Vancouver (YVR).

In the other direction, flights to Singapore (SIN) are back up and running, along with flights to a network of Australian and Pacific Island airports. North Asia remains an issue, with many countries still banning tourists and/or putting onerous entry restrictions on them. However, that's a problem faced by all airlines that normally service the North Asia market.