Air New Zealand says it will pivot to chasing high-value "bucket list" international tourists, as new chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar pitches investors on a "strategy reset" to drag the loss-making carrier back to profitability.
It comes as the airline reveals it is grappling with fresh Boeing manufacturing delays that have pushed back the delivery of two new 787 Dreamliners.
But the delays land as the carrier finally begins to clear a separate fleet headache, with the last of its aircraft grounded by engine problems returning to the airline this week after the troubles dogged Air New Zealand for more than two years.
The reset, badged Te Pae Hou - Our Future, was presented to investors and analysts on a call this afternoon – the product of a full strategy review the board ordered when Ravishankar took over in October 2025.
The strategy rests on three priorities – customer first, targeted growth, and being "resilient and future fit" – under a stated ambition of becoming "the world's most respected airline".
Airline focuses on long-haul premium travel
Ravishankar said the airline would pivot on inbound premium tourists who pick New Zealand as a "bucket list" trip and "value a calm, distinctively Kiwi experience".
"We, as Kiwi, already travel a lot but there's significant growth potential in bringing those high-value customers to New Zealand," he said.
"We will not try and be all things to all customers. We will serve all customers well, of course, but our investment will be sharper.
"We know who our must-win customer segments are and what they value most."
He added: "There is a big opportunity in converting more offshore premium visitors to New Zealand and connecting them through our domestic and regional networks.
The airline said it had raised fares and reduced flights but recovering the full impact of higher fuel costs would hit demand. (Source: 1News)
"This shift to precision marketing gives us a greater chance at finding those customers and converting that demand."
At home, the airline was also targeting the business commuters and "road warriors" who underpin its regional network.
'Financially sustainable' regional network
Ravishankar said those travellers took an average of four to five trips a year and made up 17% of passengers but more than 35% of regional contributions.
He also flagged a push for what it called a "financially sustainable regional network", saying it had begun a programme of stakeholder engagement.
Speaking to 1News last month, Ravishankar said the airline wasn't intending to cut routes, adding that disestablishing them "would be a very, very big decision".
The reset also leans on a cost-cutting and savings drive, with the airline targeting about $100 million in annualised savings – including from an organisational restructure – expected to flow from the 2027 financial year.
Ravishankar told 1News in May that redundancies were likely as the airline worked to cut costs, although he said the scale was not yet known.
Engine problems easing but two new planes delayed
Ravishankar said the airline was also aiming to become one of the top five most on-time airlines in the world, amid criticism over the carrier's disruptions in the past several years.
Nikhil Ravishankar forced to cancel 11,000 flights affecting 44,000 passengers as fuel prices soar. (Source: 1News)
He pointed to a strong May as evidence the reset was gaining traction, saying 89.9% of flights were on time that month, with cancellations below 1%.
Chief financial officer Richard Thomson said manufacturing delays pushed the first two of the airline's new 787 Dreamliners further into the first half of the 2027 financial year.
Thomson said the engine troubles, which have grounded aircraft since 2023, had been one of the airline's biggest challenges.
"When an airline can't fly the aircraft it owns, the economics deteriorate quickly," he said.
Ravishankar said the last grounded 787 had returned from Alice Springs this week, although Thomson cautioned it would be the 2028 financial year before the airline was largely clear of the carrying costs of leased aircraft used to cover the shortfall.
The airline confirmed its forecast loss before tax of $340 million to $390 million for the 2026 financial year – as first flagged last month – was unchanged, and said no new financial targets would be set until its annual results in late August.
Asked directly whether Air New Zealand could be profitable in the 2027 financial year, Ravishankar declined to give guidance, instead pointing to the wind-down of grounded-aircraft costs as a guide.
"I think a good indicator of our sort of recovery profile would be to follow our fortunes as far as exiting the extra costs related to our grounded aircraft are concerned."
Separately, the airline also today announced it had appointed Kris Cudmore as its new chief financial officer.
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