Air New Zealand had both a before-tax and after-tax loss for the half-year, of NZ$59 million and NZ$40 million respectively.
This compares to an after-tax profit of NZ$106 million for the same period in the last financial year.
The carrier attributed the loss to engine maintenance issues, weaker than expected domestic travel demand, a weak New Zealand dollar and rising aviation costs.
According to Air New Zealand’s own estimates, earnings would have been NZ$90 million higher without the engine maintenance issues, but the airline received compensation of just $55 million from engine manufacturers. Up to eight aircraft were grounded simultaneously due to these issues during the reporting period.
“Given the ongoing volatility, including continued global engine maintenance impacts and a slower recovery in domestic demand, the board and I asked Nikhil [Ravishankar] to undertake a full strategy review when he took up the chief executive officer role in October,” said Air New Zealand’s board chair, Dame Therese Walsh.
“As New Zealand’s national airline we play an important role in supporting New Zealand, particularly as it relates to export and tourism.
“The strategy reset will allow us to be firmly focused on strengthening and growing our airline to deliver long term growth and prosperity for New Zealand.”
Ravishankar said there was a “comprehensive review of all aspects of the business” underway, “with the objective of returning the airline to sustained profitability through enhanced operational performance, growth and further cost transformation initiatives”.
“At the same time, a number of performance and product improvements are already underway, including improvements in domestic punctuality and reliability, and a decision to upgrade the interiors of our existing 777 fleet, so our widebody product is consistent, modern and mission ready,” he said.
“While we are disappointed that the engine availability issues have taken longer than anticipated to resolve, we are pleased with recent progress and now expect a total of four grounded Airbus neo and Boeing 787 aircraft to return to service throughout the 2026 calendar year.
“We will also take delivery of two of ten new 787 aircraft later in the financial year, providing widebody capacity growth of around 20 percent to 25 percent over the next two years.”
