Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran resigns
Thursday, 6 March 2025
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran has resigned, departing on October 20.
He has been the head of the airline since 2020.
The board will now start an immediate global search for a new CEO.
Air New Zealand has announced its chief executive Greg Foran has resigned.
He will leave the airline on October 20, 2025 after five years at the helm.
Chair, Dame Therese Walsh, said Foran indicated to the Board that he believed the airline was set up well to continue its trajectory of growth and innovation, and the time was right for him to take on a new challenge.
Therese said: “Greg has always displayed exceptional leadership and grit, not only guiding Air New Zealand through global aviation’s most significant crisis, but at the same time also maintaining the airline’s tradition of innovation, strong culture and care for our country.
“As I’d expect of Greg, he’s been very generous with his notice period and will stay with Air New Zealand through to the middle of October. This allows the Board to carry out a global search for his replacement which we will embark on immediately.
“The timing also allows Greg to help transition in a new leader. In the meantime, Greg will continue to lead Air New Zealand with the same dedication and energy that has defined his time with us,” said Therese.
Foran said, “Leading Air New Zealand has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. It’s been an incredible experience alongside an exceptional team. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and the way we’ve positioned Air New Zealand for the future.
“I am humbled by the work Air New Zealanders do every day and their extraordinary commitment to each other, our customers and our country.
“Despite so many issues outside of our control, we have continued to deliver improvements to our service every day and I’ll leave later this year knowing Air New Zealand’s foundations are immensely strong, and its future very bright. It has been an honour to serve our customers, our 11,500-strong team, and New Zealand. I will look back on my time here with immense pride and gratitude.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she heard the news earlier on Thursday.
“Greg has done a good job at Air New Zealand and through challenging times and I wish him well for the future. I’m sure that they will [have] a good transition to a new chief executive.”
She said she was not shocked by Foran’s decision.
“Those chief executive roles are incredibly demanding. Greg Foran is a globally experienced chief executive who I'm sure has a number of options in terms of the roles that he might do in the future. I think that Air New Zealand, having come through Covid at a time which was incredibly difficult for the aviation industry and then the challenges it's had with engineering, issues in terms of getting engines, getting planes. It's been a challenging time for any leader, and every leader makes their own decision about when it's the right time to leave.“
Foran, 63, started as chief executive of Air New Zealand on February 3, 2020, replacing now Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
He was previously the CEO of Walmart US from 2014 to 2019.
At the time of his appointment, he described Air New Zealand as one of the world’s great airlines.
“I want Air New Zealand to continue to be at the forefront of its industry across the world and to deliver strong commercial results in the process.”
He recently told the Between Two Beers podcast that he knew nothing about airlines before taking the role.
“I couldn’t even tell you the difference between a 787 and a 777.”
He said the day before his first day he was told that the airline was stopping its daily flights to Shanghai, as Covid-19 started to break out in Wuhan, China.
“We get through that week and then the next Monday we’re back in the same room the discussion goes ‘we’re going to have to shut down Korea’.”
“The next few weeks it’s Japan, it’s Singapore and the discussion is it's okay we've still got America.
“Then it was about Saturday the 20th of March the phone goes, I can remember, I was down in Rotorua doing a bit of a tour around and it's the Prime Minister on the phone and Jacinda says ‘I'm just giving you heads up, we're going to close the country’.”
The pandemic was just the start of the issues Foran had to endure during his tenure.
In July 2023, engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney disclosed a condition affecting up to 700 engines globally.
Due to engine availability as a result of the P&W maintenance issues, the airline would have to have four aircraft grounded at any one time.
It caused the airline to have to wet lease planes from Wamos for its Auckland-Perth route.
There were also issues with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines which were used in the 787-9 Dreamliners.
Foran told Stuff Travel in December that it had to bring on at least three [Boeing] 777s that are ex-Cathay Pacific planes to try and keep its schedule operating.
“Those planes come with different seats and different galley carts and so you've got to get different parts. The complexity that all this stuff adds in is considerable.
“We do get some compensation. Frankly, it doesn't pay for the disruption and that's one of the challenges that we've had in terms of hitting our profit targets. We get compensated to the tune of cents in the dollar.'
At the release of the company’s half-yearly results in February, Foran said it had been a tough year so far with the aircraft groundings.
“Investment in modern, fuel-efficient aircraft is an important part of Air New Zealand’s fleet strategy. But with over $1 billion worth of our newest, most efficient aircraft grounded at times, it’s been a tough year so far. Delivering the performance we have and maintaining such a strong balance sheet, is a real credit to our people and I’m proud of what we have achieved.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of the financial year, Foran acknowledged that 2025 is set to be particularly challenging financially, as the airline navigated its first full 12-month period with up to 11 jets (six narrowbody and five widebody) out of service at any time.
“This is a significant volume of aircraft to have on the ground, but we continue to take steps to build resilience into our operations through schedule adjustments, leasing additional engines, and prioritising customer experience improvements. Despite these challenging times, there is much to look forward to in the coming months.”
By this time next year, Air New Zealand expected to have more than half of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet modernised with completely new cabin interiors, including the latest Business Premier Luxe™ seats.
Additional leased engines were expected to arrive shortly to bolster network resilience, and a new uniform will be revealed in the coming months. The airline also planned to trial innovations such as digital bag tags and onboard domestic Wi-Fi, alongside the arrival of an all-electric demonstrator aircraft mid-calendar year.
“The road ahead is not without obstacles, but our balance sheet strength, our clear strategic priorities, and the skill and commitment of our team position us well to navigate the year ahead,” said Foran.
Foran hasn’t been afraid to step from behind the desk either.
In January 2023, he was spotted clearing a backlog of luggage at Auckland International Airport.
A spokesperson for the airline said that the work was part of the airline’s volunteering scheme which it operates during peak travel periods.
“Hundreds of Air New Zealanders from across our business, including Greg and members of our executive team, have been volunteering to help our teams at Auckland Airport over this busy holiday period,” they said.
On his first day, he completed a cleaning shift and has flown on several domestic routes serving tea and coffee to the passengers.
In a letter to travellers in the March 2020 issue of the airline’s inflight magazine Kia Ora Foran wrote:
'One of the aspects of my job I get most satisfaction about is getting hands-on with customers and staff. Don't be surprised to see me working with our Cabin Crew serving on flights, checking customers in at airports or welcoming everyone arriving or departing at Koru lounges.
“When I'm not interacting with customers, you might spot me helping our Baggage Handlers load aircraft, or supporting Cleaning Crew tidying up our aircraft between flights. You'll find I could even be a voice that pops up on calls into our Contact Centre,' Foran said.