Air New Zealand's assuring it's on track for economic stability.

The national airline's announced a first-half before-tax loss of $59 million.

CEO Nikhil Ravishankar says the result's driven by challenges from aircraft being grounded, a softer recovery than expected - and rising costs. 

But he says they'll be well on the road to recovery over the next two to three years. 

"One of the key reasons I say that so confidently is for the first time in six years, we've got new aircraft coming back into the fleet and we're solving engine issues." 

LISTEN ABOVE

Air New Zealand's assuring it's on track for economic stability.
The national airline's announced a first-half before-tax loss of $59 million.
CEO Nikhil Ravishankar says the result's driven by challenges from aircraft being grounded, a softer recovery than expected - and rising costs.&nbsp;
But he says they'll be well on the road to recovery over the next two to three years.&nbsp;
"One of the key reasons I say that so confidently is for the first time in six years, we've got new aircraft coming back into the fleet and we're solving engine issues."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Nikhil Ravishankar: Air New Zealand CEO says airline on the road to recovery following first half financial loss

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/663df75b-6f9c-4c69-94a6-b3fd004b3f31/transcript

It's looking to be a rough season for our meat processing sector, with companies struggling to compete with abundant grass and a turbo-charged store stock market.

Some companies have dropped published lamb and beef schedules by 10c/kg, and the decline has prompted concerns. 

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

It's looking to be a rough season for our meat processing sector, with companies struggling to compete with abundant grass and a turbo-charged store stock market.
Some companies have dropped published lamb and beef schedules by 10c/kg, and the decline has prompted concerns.&nbsp;
The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.
LISTEN ABOVE

Jamie Mackay: The Country host on meat processors struggling to get stock onto lines

So David Seymour’s right about Air New Zealand - but he’s also wrong about Air New Zealand.

Before we get to why, let me bring you up to speed on what’s happened with the airline today, because the news is not good.

Air New Zealand has posted a half-year result showing a $59 million pre-tax loss, which is slightly worse than expected. And to be fair to Air New Zealand, a lot of this really isn’t their fault. 

They’ve had not one, but two engine types in their fleet causing them trouble. And the economic downturn we’re experiencing in New Zealand - the worst in most of our lifetimes, you have to go back more than 50 years to find anything as bad - directly affects their earnings. 

If we don’t have money, we’re certainly not spending money on flights.

But some of this is their fault. They’re squandering customer loyalty with poor on-time performance and a tired, diminished Koru Club offering.

And this is where David Seymour is right when he says, “Go woke, go broke.”

Because part of the reason Air New Zealand is losing customers to Jetstar is that there are people who no longer want to pay for Koru Club. The offering has slid from the good old days. You can’t even - and this bugs people more than the airline ever seemed to realise -  go into the lounge, ask for a coffee, and take it away like you can at a café.

There are no takeaway coffees because Air New Zealand doesn’t want paper cups going on planes. Paper cups are bad for the environment… when you’re flying planes.

They’ve wasted time and money trialling an electric aircraft they don’t actually know how to integrate into their fleet. And they’re constantly lecturing the government about sustainable aviation fuel - SAF - which is more expensive than standard jet fuel, and standard jet fuel is already extremely expensive right now.

But here’s where David Seymour is wrong - he says the solution is to sell down the Government’s 51 percent stake in Air New Zealand.

We can’t do that.

We are an isolated island nation. There are only two ways to get here - by boat or by plane, and we all know which one people actually use. 

We need to own those planes to make sure they keep flying. If we learned anything during COVID, it’s that Air New Zealand effectively became a logistics lifeline and repatriation service for the entire country.

So yes, David Seymour is part right and part wrong. We do need Air New Zealand to stop the distractions and start doing its job properly. And we do need it to remain in New Zealand hands.

So David Seymour’s right about Air New Zealand - but he’s also wrong about Air New Zealand.
Before we get to why, let me bring you up to speed on what’s happened with the airline today, because the news is not good.
Air New Zealand has posted a half-year result showing a $59 million pre-tax loss, which is slightly worse than expected. And to be fair to Air New Zealand, a lot of this really isn’t their fault.&nbsp;
They’ve had not one, but two engine types in their fleet causing them trouble. And the economic downturn we’re experiencing in New Zealand - the worst in most of our lifetimes, you have to go back more than 50 years to find anything as bad - directly affects their earnings.&nbsp;
If we don’t have money, we’re certainly not spending money on flights.
But some of this is their fault. They’re squandering customer loyalty with poor on-time performance and a tired, diminished Koru Club offering.
And this is where David Seymour is right when he says, “Go woke, go broke.”
Because part of the reason Air New Zealand is losing customers to Jetstar is that there are people who no longer want to pay for Koru Club. The offering has slid from the good old days. You can’t even - and this bugs people more than the airline ever seemed to realise -&nbsp; go into the lounge, ask for a coffee, and take it away like you can at a café.
There are no takeaway coffees because Air New Zealand doesn’t want paper cups going on planes. Paper cups are bad for the environment… when you’re flying planes.
They’ve wasted time and money trialling an electric aircraft they don’t actually know how to integrate into their fleet. And they’re constantly lecturing the government about sustainable aviation fuel - SAF - which is more expensive than standard jet fuel, and standard jet fuel is already extremely expensive right now.
But here’s where David Seymour is wrong - he says the solution is to sell down the Government’s 51 percent stake in Air New Zealand.
We can’t do that.
We are an isolated island nation. There are only two ways to get here - by boat or by plane, and we all know which one people actually use.&nbsp;
We need to own those planes to make sure they keep flying. If we learned anything during COVID, it’s that Air New Zealand effectively became a logistics lifeline and repatriation service for the entire country.
So yes, David Seymour is part right and part wrong. We do need Air New Zealand to stop the distractions and start doing its job properly. And we do need it to remain in New Zealand hands.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Was David Seymour right about Air New Zealand going 'woke'?

Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! 

Air New Zealand recently posted a multi-million net loss, and it's prompted David Seymour to urge the Government to sell down shares in the airline. Do we think this is the right move? What's gone wrong here? 

New data from Cotality shows women are lagging behind men when it comes to home ownership. Why do we think this is?

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made the jump across the ditch and has been spotted house-hunting in Sydney. What do we make of this? 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, journalist Clare de Lore and Ali Jones from Red PR joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!&nbsp;
Air New Zealand recently posted a multi-million net loss, and it's prompted David Seymour to urge the Government to sell down shares in the airline. Do we think this is the right move? What's gone wrong here?&nbsp;
New data from Cotality shows women are lagging behind men when it comes to home ownership. Why do we think this is?
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made the jump across the ditch and has been spotted house-hunting in Sydney. What do we make of this?&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Nikhil Ravishankar: Air New Zealand CEO says airline on the road to recovery following first half financial loss

In 1 playlist(s)

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips