NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Airlines

Air New Zealand posts $725 million loss after expenses soar, pandemic lockdowns reduce flights

Tamsyn Parker
By Tamsyn Parker
Business Editor·NZ Herald·
24 Aug, 2022 09:32 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
28CommentsSave
    Share this article
Air New Zealand has released its year to June 30 financial results. Photo / NZME

Air New Zealand has released its year to June 30 financial results. Photo / NZME

Higher fuel and labour costs on top of fewer flights due to pandemic restrictions have led to Air New Zealand more than doubling its loss in its latest financial year.

The airline made a net loss of $591 million in the year to June 30, up from $292m in the prior financial year.

Its loss before tax was $810m - up from $415m and the airline's loss before other significant items and tax was $725m, up from $444m.

Air New Zealand's revenue rose from $2.517 billion to $2.734b.

But its expenses increased from $2.18b to $2.738b.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That was largely driven by fuel costs rising from $311m to $560m and labour costs up from $830m to $976m.

Air New Zealand said although the financial year ended strongly following the reopening of borders in March, pandemic-related travel restrictions greatly impacted the airline's operating revenue.

Cargo and domestic revenues helped lift overall revenue by 9 per cent but high fuel prices and reduced flying over much of the year resulted in a loss for the period.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Chief executive Greg Foran said the airline would move deftly to address change.

"For customers, we've been focused on restoring services, maintaining a choice of fares and launching innovations to improve their journey with us."

Foran said cargo revenue was still a major contributor to the company's performance, up 32 percent to $1b.

Additional flying under the New Zealand and Australian government airfreight schemes had contributed $403m of that revenue.

With borders now largely reopened, the Australian scheme had ended, and the New Zealand scheme was tapering off and would conclude by the end of March 2023.

The underlying loss was higher than that expected by analysts at Jarden, which forecast an underlying loss before tax of $707m.

While the heaviest full year-loss of the pandemic, it is still dwarfed by the after-tax loss of $1.4b in 2001 when its Australian investment Ansett collapsed along with global aviation for a while after the 9/11 terror attacks.

Air New Zealand raised $2.2b from shareholders in May to recapitalise the business.

Foran said the current environment was one of strong bookings despite ongoing challenges.

Earlier this month the airline cut its planned schedule and said it would operate 1.5 per cent fewer seats than originally planned during the next six months.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The airline said it was taking proactive measures to protect customers' travel plans as sickness caused disruption.

"As we've been seeing overseas, travel demand is much stronger than anyone anticipated. But we're operating in a very tight labour market with high fuel prices, tough economic conditions and the highest levels of employee sickness in more than a decade."

Foran said high booking levels were evident through July and August and corporate bookings were also trending closely towards pre-Covid levels.

Air New Zealand chair Dame Therese Walsh acknowledged the support the airline got from shareholders over the course of a challenging two-year period.

"From the Crown loan provided in the early days of the pandemic, to the airfreight support scheme that helped us keep connected to key export markets, to the $2.2 billion recapitalisation completed in May which allowed thousands of shareholders to take part in refuelling the airline for success.

As of August 23, the airline had available liquidity of $2.3b including $1.9b in cash and $400m of available funds on the unsecured standby loan facility with the Crown.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The cash balance included $200 million of issued redeemable shares which the airline planned to redeem once its recovery was more advanced.

Read More

  • Travel squeeze: Air New Zealand cancels flights as ...
  • Air New Zealand cancellations and 'wet lease' moves ...
  • Air New Zealand near top of global list of 19 for rate ...
  • Air New Zealand staff asked to volunteer hours to plug ...

Walsh said the board did not expect to consider payment of dividends before the airline's earnings substantially recovered.

It was expecting total flying capacity to be in the range of 75 to 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels in its 2023 financial year and anticipated a significant improvement in financial performance relative to financial year 2022.

But it gave no earnings guidance, citing uncertainty around volatile jet fuel prices, the risk of a global recession and inflationary pressure on costs.

Save
    Share this article
28

Comments

Latest from Airlines

Airlines

Air New Zealand international lounge at Auckland airport to be overhauled

Premium
Airlines

Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says

Premium
Business

Air New Zealand inks direct partnership with OpenAI, creates AI customers


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Atmospheric river set to drench upper North Island, waterlogged Tasman sets up emergency centres
New Zealand

Atmospheric river set to drench upper North Island, waterlogged Tasman sets up emergency centres

Police intervene after brawl at Akl Grammar involving parents and schoolboy rugby players
School Rugby

Police intervene after brawl at Akl Grammar involving parents and schoolboy rugby players

Bay of Islands hapū achieve Ngāpuhi-first Treaty of Waitangi milestone
Northern Advocate

Bay of Islands hapū achieve Ngāpuhi-first Treaty of Waitangi milestone

George Lucas makes first Comic-Con appearance, previews new museum
Entertainment

George Lucas makes first Comic-Con appearance, previews new museum

Napier man named as victim of fatal crash near Taupō
Rotorua Daily Post

Napier man named as victim of fatal crash near Taupō

Ice Warning: Injuries after school van crashes in Hawke’s Bay
Hawkes Bay Today

Ice Warning: Injuries after school van crashes in Hawke’s Bay



Latest from Airlines

Air New Zealand international lounge at Auckland airport to be overhauled
Airlines

Air New Zealand international lounge at Auckland airport to be overhauled

The airline will roll out a two-part lounge and nearly double its Auckland footprint.

27 Jul 09:18 PM
Premium
Premium
Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says
Airlines

Kiwi victims of Qantas cyber attack can lodge complaint in NZ, expert says

26 Jul 12:26 AM
Premium
Premium
Air New Zealand inks direct partnership with OpenAI, creates AI customers
Business

Air New Zealand inks direct partnership with OpenAI, creates AI customers

24 Jul 02:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search