Two to three more years of delays in aircraft supply and maintenance, Air NZ boss says

Monday, 9 December 2024

There will be two to three more years of disruption as Air New Zealand waits for new aircraft supply and maintenance, chief executive Greg Foran says.

Foran told RNZ it “sounds really, really terrible but that happens to be the fact of it.”

Foran previously told Stuff Travel in a statement Air NZ was significantly impacted by global engine challenges across its fleet.

“This is not unique to Air New Zealand; several airlines worldwide are similarly impacted.”

Four of Air NZ’s 14 787 Dreamliner’s are out of service and the disruption was costing the airline as much as $150 million a year, Foran told RNZ.

Foran said he had recently returned to New Zealand from visiting Rolls Royce and Pratt and Whitney.

“I can tell you it's pretty tough out there in the supply chain at the moment.”

In the last two months, a range of capacity cuts have been announced. Air New Zealand will no longer fly its Invercargill to Wellington service from January 19, 2025. The airline said engine issues and softened demand were to blame.

From February 2025, the first flight of the morning from Queenstown to Christchurch will be reduced by more than 100 seats due to lower demand and daylight operating limits for turboprops.

Dunedin to Wellington will also be downsized from a jet to a turboprop, while there will be three fewer flights a week between Christchurch and New Plymouth.