File photo.
Photo: AFP
Air New Zealand is set to cancel around 1100 flights affecting thousands of passengers through until early May.
Air NZ chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Morning Report between now and the end of April, early May the airline will cancel around 1100 flights.
In that period the airline will carry around 1.9 million passengers, so 44,000 passengers will be affected by flight cancellations, he said. Most of the passengers will be moved to flights on the same day.
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Services would be cut “proportionally across the board”, meaning both domestic and international, but no routes would be cut altogether. Off-peak services would be the focus of the cuts, he said.
“Maintaining regional connectivity is very high on the agenda.”
Air New Zealand is facing massive cost pressures, with the conflict in the Middle East increasing the price of jet fuel.
The International Energy Agency on Thursday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in its history, to try to rein in crude prices which have soared due to supply shocks from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Nikhil Ravishankar will take over as Air New Zealand chief executive in October.
Photo: Supplied / Air NZ
“It’s an unprecedented issue as far as fuel price is concerned but managing fuel spikes is a well trodden path if you’re running an airline. It’s just the fact the fuel spike as been as dramatic as it’s been, it focuses the mind,” Ravishankar said.
Ravishankar said he has spoken to “all regional mayors” about their concerns regarding regional services and has their support.
He said the airline was looking at reducing a small number of international services, but said US services are an important link to Europe, particularly while there were disruptions in the Middle East.
Travellers still wanted to get to Europe and New Zealand was one of the few places that could offer safe passage going via US airspace.
“The trimming of longhaul is fairly negligible, I think it’s three flights between now and the end of April.”
Services to all four US airports – San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Houston – would continue.
It was too early to tell if a strategic review would result in job cuts, Ravishankar said.
Air New Zealand is facing more massive cost pressures, with the conflict in the Middle East increasing the price of jet fuel.
This week the airline suspended its earnings guidance and increased ticket prices to account for the rise in fuel costs. Domestic fares will increase by $10, short-haul international by $20 and long-haul by $90.
On Wednesday, Qantas and Jetstar also confirmed they were increasing airfares due to a doubling in the cost of aviation fuel.
Last month, Air NZ announced a half-year loss of $40 million in the six months ended December, compared to last year’s profit of $106m.
The critical Hormuz Strait, a shipping route for up to 20 percent of the world’s oil, is essentially closed due to the conflict in the region.
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