Air New Zealand seeks to delay Boeing 787 deliveries, cut costs in strategic reset

Air New Zealand said it will seek to delay Boeing 787 deliveries, cut costs, and target premium tourists as it resets its strategy to return the loss-making airline to profitability over the next two years. In comments on an investor call on June 30, outgoing Chief Financial Officer Richard Thomson said the later-than-expected arrival of two 787 Dreamliners due to manufacturing issues made the company’s capital spending profile too heavy for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Those aircraft were previously expected in the fiscal year ending June 30, so Air New Zealand is working with Boeing to postpone other deliveries as well. The airline has 10 787s on order and expects fuel pressure to remain elevated amid the Middle East conflict, contributing to its forecast for the largest pre-tax annual loss in four years in May and two rounds of fare increases. It reiterated FY26 pre-tax loss guidance of NZ$340 million to NZ$390 million and aims to cut NZ$100 million in costs in FY27, with analysts expecting pre-tax profit only in FY28. CEO Nikhil Ravishankar cited high fuel prices and an unusual spike in refining margins linked to the Iran conflict, and Thomson said the carrier has hedged 76% of Brent exposure and 20% of refining margin. Thomson will be replaced by Kris Cudmore on August 3.