ATR and Air New Zealand take partnership to next level to accelerate decarbonisation of aviation

Regional aircraft manufacturer ATR, and leading New Zealand carrier Air New Zealand recently announced they are deepening their existing partnership, on a mission to accelerate the development and introduction of low-emission aircraft technology in New Zealand. This collaboration will enable both ATR and Air New Zealand to go deeper into their exploration of disruptive innovations, the result of which will be decisive to shape the future of regional aviation.

Through an initiative called ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’, Air New Zealand is partnering with several industry and academic stakeholders to replace its Q300 domestic fleet with a more sustainable option from 2030. Offering today the most responsible regional aircraft on the market, ATR has launched a feasibility study on its ATR ‘EVO’ concept, demonstrating its ambition to continue to drive the future of the regional market towards net-zero carbon emissions.

Air New Zealand Chief Sustainability Officer Kiri Hannifin said: “Through our partnerships with Airbus and ATR we’ve been able to deepen our understanding of the impact green hydrogen and battery hybrid aircraft may have on our network, operations and infrastructure, as well as the opportunities and challenges of flying low and zero emissions aircraft in New Zealand. Working with the world’s leading innovators is critical to addressing the climate crisis. These partners were selected because they are taking action now to progress decarbonising the aviation industry.”

Air New Zealand named Best Airline in the South Pacific at APEX Awards

Photo Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand picked up top honours at the prestigious 2022 APEX Awards last week, receiving the 2023 APEX Passenger Choice Award for Best Airline in the South Pacific and being named a 2023 APEX Five Star winner.

The 2022 APEX Awards are held annually to recognise airlines in various regions for providing the best passenger experiences as rated by passengers. 

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says the airline is incredibly proud to be named Best Airline in the South Pacific by the Airline Passenger Experience Association. 

"This award is testament of the outstanding product and service our teams continue to deliver to our customers – this award goes to our Air New Zealand whānau (family). A very big thank you to all our employees who played an important role in getting us to where we are today." 

Air New Zealand resumes many pre-covid services

Air New Zealand is resuming a number of services it dropped during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent closure of New Zealand to overseas visitors.  The carrier is returning to Chicago from Auckland three times a week with Boeing 787 aircraft. 

“This is an exciting time for us. Since New Zealand’s borders reopened, we’ve been slowly resuming services and to now be flying to all our international destinations is a milestone moment for us,” Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said, adding: “The North American network plays a key role in Air New Zealand’s rebuild and as the third biggest city in the United States, Chicago is an important destination for us.” 

The airline is restarting its non-stop flights to Denpasar, Bali from Auckland in March of next year2023. This will also be operated by Boeing 787 aircraft and fly three times each week.  The seasonal service will be the only non-stop flight between Auckland and the holiday island.  Geraghty said: “We first flew to Bali in 2012. Our last flight was in 2019 when we flew around 17,000 customers.  It’s awesome to be back offering non-stop services and give Kiwis direct access to a tropical paradise that suits any type of traveller.”

The high cost of Air New Zealand flights is putting off some passengers,  with fares averaging double pre-covid rates, many have taken to social media to vent their frustrations. The airline's CEO Greg Foran told local media that fares will come down as capacity increases with more aircraft scheduled to arrive between now and May next year. 

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XL Air New Zealand Boeing 777A large and high-quality scale model of the Air New Zealand Boeing 777 available from air models. This extra-large 1/157 scale model has a wingspan width of 42cm and a nose-to-tail length of 47cm.
Also includes:  Detachable landing gearMetal display stand with a plastic mahogany wood-styled base.
More details here. 



XL Air New Zealand Boeing 787

Large high-quality scale model of an Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  This extra-large 1/130 scale display model has a wingspan width of 47cm and a nose-to-tail length of 43cm.

Also includes:
Detachable & rotating landing gear
Metal display stand with a plastic mahogany wood-styled base.
More details here.........

New dark Star Alliance livery for a new Airbus A321neo for Air New Zealand

Photo Air New Zealand - the dark stars.....

The stars have aligned on a brand new Airbus A321neo for Air New Zealand!   The aircraft, registration ZK-OYB, features the world’s first black Star Alliance aircraft livery.

All member airlines include Star Alliance liveries in their fleets. While they’re typically white, the team at Air New Zealand asked if they could switch it up a bit because of the significance of the colour black to the ANZ brand. The carrier based in Auckland first introduced black liveries to the fleet in 2012 with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, moving away from the globally recognised teal colours that had become a trade mark for stability and reliability. 

ZK-OYB will be one of three A321neos to join the fleet in the coming months and will be in service just in time to help get customers to where they need to be in time for the busy Christmas and holiday period.

Air New Zealand reports a loss of $725 million

In a year of ongoing twists and turns, Air New Zealand has recapitalised its business and, in the last quarter, experienced greater than expected demand for travel, while managing rising costs and an ongoing pandemic. 

The airline has today announced a loss before other significant items and taxation of $725 million for the 2022 financial year, consistent with guidance provided to the market in June. The statutory loss before taxation was $810 million2.

Although the financial year ended strongly following the phased reopening of New Zealand’s borders from March, the airline’s operating revenue of $2.7 billion was significantly impacted by pandemic-related travel restrictions. 

Cargo and domestic revenues helped lift overall revenue by 9 percent, however, high fuel prices and reduced flying over much of the year resulted in a loss for the period. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said the airline continued to be guided by a clear strategy, moving deftly to address continued change by focusing on doing the right thing for its stakeholders.

“For customers, we’ve been focused on restoring services, maintaining a choice of fares and launching 

innovations to improve their journey with us. For our amazing staff, we have provided one-off awards to acknowledge their continued extra mahi, and for our communities, we’ve been obsessed with operational performance, which drives the reliable services they depend on,” says Mr Foran.

Air New Zealand to awaken sleeping fleet.....

After 696 days in the Mojave Desert, Air New Zealand is saying ‘kia ora’ to its first Victorville 777

 

Due to the severe impacts of the Covid pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions and border closures. Air New Zealand saw its international operations reduce to less than a handful of flights.  It was a difficult time for the carrier, as it was for many airlines around the world.  

However, now, those restrictions have been lifted, travel is back on the agenda and demand is increasing and because of that, the kiwi carrier is bringing back its largest widebody jet aircraft. Capable of carrying up to 342 customers the Boeing 777 is making a welcome return to the skies for the airline, "we couldn’t be happier to connect more of Aotearoa to the rest of the world." the firm said.  

 

"Bringing back these aircraft into service takes a whole lot of mahi from our engineering and maintenance teams, and it’s fantastic to welcome both old and new faces to our whānau to operate and service these aircraft."

The airline has just embarked on an impressive programme to realise ambitious science-based emissions reduction targets.

The interim target, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), requires a 28.9% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030, from a 2019 baseline. This equates to a 16.3% reduction in absolute emissions over the period.

Science-based targets validated by the SBTi show companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Setting a science-based target allows businesses to set a robust and credible carbon reduction target that is independently assessed to ensure it aligns with the latest climate science.

Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer David Morgan says this is a critical milestone on the airline's journey to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as it provides a clear signal of where we need to be by 2030, in order to meet the 2050 goal.

Air New Zealand to centralise operations at Auckland Airport to cut costs

The National carrier of New Zealand is planning to centralize all its operations in Auckland at a cheaper refurbished office campus at the airport in a bid to save money the firm announced this week.

Air New Zealand said on Wednesday that the moves would help it cut costs by more than a  fifth over 15 years, with a move to the new location taking place next year. Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said: "We have more space than we need in the Auckland central business district (CBD) and are already paying for a precinct at the airport that has more than enough space to meet even our most ambitious growth projections," Foran added that the decision was taken due to rising building costs and the firm's leases in the CBD were coming to an end.

The firm had shed more than 4000 employees at the start of the pandemic and had more space than it needed for its much slimmed-down operations.  The amount of job losses that consolidating operations at the airport will cause has not yet been released. 

In recent weeks many of the carrier's passengers have complained about the long wait times to get through to staff regarding reservations, missing money and cancelled flights. Whilst the average waiting time for the phone to be answered is currently 58 minutes, many say they've been waiting for between two and three hours. 

The carrier, which is just starting to rebuild its international network after the covid pandemic closed the nation's borders also plans to build a new hangar at the airport. Air New Zealand has already started flights between Auckland and San Francisco, and has said its services to Honolulu will restart on 4 July,  flights to Houston are set to start on 7 July and services to New York are scheduled to begin on 17 September.

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Happy Birthday Air New Zealand.....

Formed by an international agreement between New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom with initial shareholders of the New Zealand Government, Union Airways of New Zealand, Qantas and British Overseas Airways Corporation, the forerunner of Air New Zealand - Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) started operating in April 1940. The carrier specialised in operating trans-Tasman flights between Australia and New Zealand, providing a much-needed air bridge between the two nations. A golden link that still exists to this day, but back then the aircraft flying the route was a Short S30 flying boat, registration ZK-AMA, named Aotearoa, obtained from Imperial Airways. 

It was during 1965 that TEAL became wholly owned by the New Zealand Government and thus the name Air New Zealand was born. 

Air New Zealand's livery changes through the years......

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Air New Zealand has appointed Mat Bolland to the newly created role of Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.

With a corporate affairs career of more than 20 years, Mr Bolland’s experience has spanned energy, water and telecommunications through periods of crisis and significant industry change.

Mr Bolland is currently General Manager Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at 2degrees where he is responsible for government relations, regulatory and public policy, corporate communications and public relations.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says Mat will be an outstanding addition to the Executive team at a time of growth and recovery for the airline.

“By bringing our government relations, regional, cultural and regulatory affairs, and communications functions into one team under Mat, the airline will be well placed to strengthen those key stakeholder relationships which have never been more important. I know Mat is going to make a terrific contribution to shaping our future business for the benefit of all stakeholders.

”It’s an exciting time to come onboard as we look forward to starting up more travel with our close neighbours. We look forward to welcoming Mat to the Air New Zealand team"

Mr Bolland is a Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand.

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Air New Zealand names Hobart as its tenth Australian destination.

The airline will be launching a non-stop service between Auckland and Hobart once quarantine-free travel is up and running. 

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says he expects this new route to be a great attraction for both Kiwis and Tasmanians. 

“This route will be a much-needed economic boost for New Zealand’s tourism industry. Our Hobart - Auckland route will open a direct link between 540,000 potential Tasmanian tourists and our biggest city, with regional hot spots like Queenstown and Rotorua a short skip away.

We’ll be providing flights on Thursdays and Sundays to make the most of domestic connectivity and provide the best long weekend options for travellers.”

Air New Zealand backing biofuels mandate....

The national carrier of New Zealand backs the government’s decision to implement a biofuels mandate designed to help the country reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector.

At the announcement with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw and Transport Minister Michael Wood, Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said pursuing biofuels is a necessary step in reaching New Zealand’s shared net zero by 2050 goal.

“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our airline, but it has not slowed our commitment to decarbonising our business. We see today’s announcement as a major step forward for the wider transport sector, and we’re supportive of a national strategy for decarbonising the economy, accompanied by appropriate policy settings and investment.

Air New Zealand is teaming up with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) to look at the effectiveness of saliva testing in detecting COVID-19.

Air New Zealand employees who are currently undertaking regular surveillance testing under the Ministry of Health testing order will be invited to participate in the study.

The purpose of this study is to see if a saliva sample is an accurate, easy and acceptable method of detecting COVID-19 compared to the current nasopharyngeal swab test. The study has recently been given the go ahead by the Ministry of Health National Health and Disability Ethics Committee.

Air New Zealand Chief Medical Officer Dr Ben Johnston says the airline is keen to investigate how to make the testing process as simple, easy and comfortable as possible for its crew, pilots and airport staff who are tested on a regular basis.

Air New Zealand starting flights to Rarotonga

Air New Zealand has confirmed that services from Rarotonga to New Zealand after the recent announcement of a one-way quarantine-free travel route are to be started. This is the first step of the phased approach to two-way quarantine-free travel between the two nations.

Flights from the Cook Islands to New Zealand are on sale now and Air New Zealand looks forward to welcoming the first flight into Auckland on 21 January at 10:50am.

Air New Zealand will operate two flights per week, departing Rarotonga on Wednesdays and Saturdays using the airline’s A320 fleet.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says the airline is proud to be bringing our Rarotongan neighbours to New Zealand and making headway with two-way safe quarantine-free travel.

Air New Zealand - a year not so much in the air

While it was a year not so much in the air, there were no days in 2020 without an Air New Zealand flight taking to the skies.

Air New Zealand reflects on some of the numbers from a most extraordinary 2020.

During New Zealand’s Alert Level 4 lockdown, 67 of the airline’s aircraft were grounded, and by the end of 2020, the 15 strong Boeing 777 fleet had been sent to long term storage facilities in Auckland, Roswell, New Mexico and Victorville, California.

The Air New Zealand Contact Centre recorded its busiest day on 15 March. This followed the New Zealand Government announcement on 14 March that everyone entering New Zealand, except from the Pacific, would be required to self-isolate for 14 days. On top of email and chat options, calls from customers topped 75,000 compared to 9,900 calls received on the busiest day in 2019.

As borders around the world began to close, Air New Zealanders worked hard to keep flights going to bring almost 60,000 Kiwis home that had started a return international journey before New Zealand’s Alert Level 4 lockdown began.

Air New Zealand gives away 20,000 Airpoints Dollars to spread Christmas joy to Kiwis

Air New Zealand’s new Christmas video, ’Twas the Flight Before Christmas, comes with a chance for 20 lucky Kiwis to win 1,000 Airpoints Dollars each.

Released and shot on location at the 14th Ave Dairy in Tauranga, ’Twas the Flight Before Christmas sees Santa Claus and Air New Zealand teaming up to surprise some lucky families with a magical plane ride and the gift of free flights to visit loved ones anywhere in Aotearoa this Christmas.

Air New Zealand’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says as part of the Christmas campaign, New Zealanders can nominate someone they think deserves to win Airpoints Dollars this Christmas by visiting the Air New Zealand Facebook page. 

Air New Zealand resumes flying all of its Auckland domestic routes........Face masks become mandatory

Air New Zealand has confirmed it has restarted all its domestic operations from its home base of Auckland Airport today, Monday 31st August, as the country goes in to alert level two.

It will also be mandatory for customers travelling during the nationwide Alert Level 2 to wear a face-covering while onboard Air New Zealand flights. Customers are encouraged to bring their own, or a mask will be provided by the airline prior to boarding.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says while there will be more flights to and from Auckland, physical distancing will be in place across the airline’s domestic network so there will be fewer seats available for customers.

“Physical distancing means we can only sell just under 50 percent of seats on a turboprop aircraft and just 65 percent on an A320 which also means we won’t be able to offer our lowest lead in fares until physical distancing measures are removed. This has put huge pressure on our business as it means we need to move some of our customers to other flights. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding while we work through these changes.

Air New Zealand provides clarity on safety precautions for staff

Air New Zealand opens refurbished Auckland Domestic Lounge

Air New Zealand opened its refreshed domestic lounge at Auckland Airport on Wednesday featuring seating for 375 passengers.

Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Liz Fraser says it’s fantastic to open the refreshed Auckland Domestic Lounge.

“We have redone the bar and barista station to provide more space for customers to enjoy a coffee or drink while taking in views of the runway. We’ve also refreshed the café zone and added more showers for those wanting to freshen up before they fly.

”We now have two Air New Zealand lounges available at Auckland Airport for our customers – our refreshed domestic lounge located through security for those flying on our main trunk routes, as well as our regional lounge located by the regional gates at the far end of the domestic terminal for customers catching a flight on one of our smaller turboprop aircraft.

“Both lounges have the same food and beverage offering and plenty of space to relax or get some work done before flying. We look forward to welcoming customers to both our lounges in Auckland with more and more New Zealanders beginning to fly again.”

The planned refurbishment of the Air New Zealand Domestic Lounge in Auckland commenced in January and paused during Alert Level 4 before work was restarted. The airline’s regional lounge which opened at the end of last year has seating for up to 265 customers.

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Air New Zealand Carepoints donations total nearly 250,000 Airpoints Dollars

Air New Zealand’s Airpoints members have donated nearly 250,000 Airpoints Dollars to charity through the airline’s Carepoints programme.

The programme enabled the airline and its Airpoints members to give New Zealanders a helping hand by donating their Airpoints Dollars to any or all of three charity partners: KidsCan, Women’s Refuge and New Zealand Red Cross.

Air New Zealand General Manager Loyalty Kate O’Brien says Airpoints members have generously donated more than 89,000 Airpoints Dollars to KidsCan, more than 59,000 to New Zealand Red Cross and 100,000 to Women’s Refuge.