The Secret of Success

摘要

Air New Zealand will celebrate its 75th birthday in style on April 26 after enjoying a 30% rise in normalised earnings before tax to NZ$232 million in the 2013-2014 financial year, and the promise of more to come this year. Under the stewardship of CEO Christopher Luxon, the airline is currently one of the most profitable in the Asia-Pacific region and is looking forward to an even brighter future. It recently announced orders for Airbus A320/A321neo aircraft to overhaul its regional international fleet and in 2014 introduced its first Boeing 787-9s, resplendent in the airline's new-look black and white livery complete with New Zealand's iconic Koru and silver fern logos. Last year the company launched an upgrade of its Boeing 777-200ER cabins and airport lounges, formed an alliance with Singapore Airlines and announced a codeshare deal with Aerolineas Argentinas which will see it flying a direct service between Auckland and Buenos Aires from December this year. These are impressive achievements in a global airline climate where many operators are struggling to return a profit, despite the fact that Air New Zealand faces the same problems of volatile fuel prices and increased competition both at home and abroad. Its performance is even more impressive when geography is factored into the equation: New Zealand is at the end of a very long flight from London or Los Angeles and even the growing Asian destinations are ten or more flying hours away. Far from using these factors as an excuse for poor performance, Christopher Luxon points out Air New Zealand's strategy is to look upon them as the canvas on which it must compete.