Air NZ man in thick of domestic dogfight

John Whittaker says it is "hard to see three airlines surviving in a market as small as this". Photo / Glenn Geffrey

John Whittaker, who heads Air New Zealand's domestic jet fleet, has found himself at the forefront of one of the most intensive aviation skirmishes in this region.

With an aggressive Jetstar largely over teething troubles and Pacific Blue reporting good loads and not running up the white flag as some have predicted, the national carrier faces an ongoing battle to not only keep loads up on planes but make them pay.

Whittaker 46, has been in the tourism and aviation business since the mid-1980s and was appointed Air New Zealand's domestic airline general manager this year. He has day-to-day oversight of the airline's 15 Boeing 737-300 aircraft, the main-trunk workhorses, which carry about four million passengers a year.

"It's a period of intense competition. It's hard to see three airlines surviving in a market as small as this."

The prolonged recession had seen Air New Zealand's "natural market" shrink by about 10 per cent at one stage but through fare cuts this had been won back, Whittaker said.

Jetstar's entry into the domestic market in June in place of parent Qantas had helped Air New Zealand after business travellers were left with little choice.

When Whittaker joined Air New Zealand at the beginning of the decade, domestic jets were consistently just 65 per cent full. They now run at about 80 per cent. "If you've got that load factor you can consistently offer better fares to customers. Learning how to sell to 80 per cent full across the year has been one of the changes I've noticed."

Christchurch-raised Whittaker "grew up" in Mount Cook Airlines, originally in the bus and tourist side of the business before becoming general manager of the airline in the mid-90s.

"Growing up in a small airline was fantastic as you need to know everything that goes on in that airline to make it work and all the people to make it work."

He joined Air New Zealand as head of its Pacific Island network and inbound tourist operation at the start of 2001.

Nine months later the September 11 terror attacks happened as he gathered with other tourist leaders in Queenstown for a major conference.

"When we first got there the feeling was shock about what September 11 would mean for business. A couple of days later there was even more shock when [Air NZ subsidiary] Ansett collapsed."

For Air New Zealand it meant not only a bailout but a radical shift in direction. "We learned a lot from that and learned how we had to change as a company to prosper in a different airline world."

The airline learned to be an innovator rather than following what rivals were doing. This led to lower fares, new long-haul products including premium economy, and a revamp of the airpoints scheme so travellers could use them on any flight they wanted.

In 2002 Whittaker became alliances and code share manager, sitting on the board of Star Alliance, which met twice a year with chief executives of all the airlines. "As a relatively young manager I got to spend weekends with managers of some of the biggest airlines in the world. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the way people think and leadership styles."

He was in that role for about three years, during which he also oversaw the revamp of airpoints and loyalty programmes. He then served as general manager of international operations, overseeing performance of the fleet and Air New Zealand operations at airports around the world.

He started in his present role after new check-in procedures had been successfully bedded in. This gives the airline an advantage over competitors by being able to close off flights later.

"Someone who focuses only on cost in their airline, for example, will say 'if we close the check-in 30 minutes prior then we don't have to have people in the check-in counter for the last 10 to 15 minutes'."

Since Jetstar's troubled start, on-time performance has been a big issue.

Air New Zealand has introduced "pit-stop turnarounds" which aim to turn around an aircraft in less than 30 minutes even if it is running late. This involves getting more people to an aircraft to turn it around and could involve extra cleaning while the aircraft is still airborne and using front and rear doors to enter the aircraft.

The record is an 18-minute turnaround in Wellington.

AIR NZ PLANS

* New planes - the airline will opt for Boeing 737-800s or A320s.
* The aircraft will start arriving over the next year to 18 months.
* New initiatives this month in response to customer calls for more check-in flexibility.