“And number three, there are actually routes that are pretty good for us.”
Profitability of routes changed all the time, and the airline kept an open mind to respond to that, Foran said.
In the past few years it had pulled out of routes to London, Chicago, Frankfurt and Santiago, and added flights to New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Bali, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
“[Air New Zealand has a] $200 million piece of machinery that can move. We can decide to point that machinery to South America or we can decide to point it up to Asia.”
It was considering pointing an aircraft toward India in the future.
But growth in its flying capacity was constrained because 10 of its aircraft were currently out of action due to engineering maintenance schedule surprises with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines.
“So this is a brand-new plane, A320. We can’t fly it,” Foran told Markets with Madison inside its hangar at Auckland Airport.
It was one of a handful of aircraft parked up with its engine ripped out.
“Can you imagine how frustrated I am?”
Go inside Air New Zealand’s hangar with Greg Foran, and hear him discuss profits and pricing, in today’s episode of Markets with Madison above.
Get investment insights from executives and experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday here on the NZ Herald, on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature, and is not intended to be personalised financial advice. We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.
Madison Reidy is host and executive producer of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.