The return to profitability helped give the management team and the board, led by then chairman John Palmer, the confidence to place a large order for new long-haul aircraft. That included the 787-9, the stretch version of the Dreamliner, which made its delivery flight to Auckland on Friday. Air NZ was the first airline in the world to take delivery of the new plane.
The Kiwi carrier is now the most pro*fitable airline in Australia. It expects to report a full-year pre-tax profit of at least $NZ300 million ($282 million) in August, which compares with analysts’ forecasts for a pre-tax loss of $731 million at its once-stronger rival Qantas.
Within the airline industry, Air NZ has plenty of admirers.
Dominic Walsh, the managing director of brand consulting firm Landor Australia, has worked for Qantas and Jetstar. He says Air NZ’s focus on innovation is much more exciting for customers and employees than Qantas’s cost cutting.