Following the New Zealand government’s announcement delaying the start of non-MIQ travel, Air New Zealand will cancel around 120 services through to the end of February. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says this will be incredibly tough news for many. “Our heart goes out to those who were counting down the days until they could reconnect with their family and friends. While this news is disappointing for the airline, we know these changes are put in place to keep Aotearoa safe. We’ll now need to navigate our way through what these changes mean for our customers, as we have done over the past 23 months.”
The airline estimates around 120 flights will need to be canceled, with around 27,000 customers expected to be impacted. Most of the cancelled services are across the Tasman with only a small reduction in frequency on some long-haul flights. “We are here for our customers, and as we have throughout the pandemic, we will continue to fly to get them home to Aotearoa as MIQ allocations allow. Even though it may not be as soon as we had hoped, when the day comes our team will be standing tall, with a big smile, ready to welcome customers on board once again.”
All existing quarantine-free flights from Australia to New Zealand between 17 January and 28 February 2022 will be cancelled and there will be a limited schedule of quarantine flights will be available to book. Customers are asked to continue to check the airline’s Travel Alerts page for further updates. Customers who still wish to travel to New Zealand will need to secure a MIQ allocation before booking on a quarantine flight. The airline will continue to operate a reduced schedule from New Zealand to Australia but will be consolidating its schedule and only operating services out of Auckland. Customers with bookings who no longer wish to travel are asked to use the airline’s online self-service tool to hold their fare in credit. The airline’s international flexibility policy is in place for flights scheduled to depart before 30 June 2022 meaning customers can change their flights with change fees waived. If customers have booked through a travel agent or third-party online agent, they will need to contact them directly to rebook or place their ticket into credit.
Air New Zealand seeking innovators for next generation aircraft
Air New Zealand wants to get a zero emissions aircraft in the air in the next five years and is calling on traditional aviation manufacturers as well as entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world to help achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The airline has released a Product Requirements Document (PRD) – a guide for business and innovators to help build, launch, or market the provision of zero emissions/novel propulsion aircraft in New Zealand. It provides an overview of Air New Zealand requirements based on its network and fleet and is intended to kickstart discussion for ongoing collaboration.
Air New Zealand is looking for aircraft technology ideas on how to accelerate and deploy propulsion innovations such as hybrid, hydrogen, or electric technologies for its new aircraft. Air New Zealand’s Head of Fleet Strategy Baden Smith says the airline is taking bold steps to ramp up genuine climate action and is looking for innovative organisations that can help us on our zero emissions aircraft journey. “As we work towards our net zero 2050 goal, reducing aircraft emissions is critical. While our industry faces a steep challenge to decarbonise, New Zealand is uniquely placed to lead the world in zero emissions aircraft and low carbon alternatives on our domestic air transport network. We believe New Zealand could be a world leader in zero or low emissions aircraft, whether that’s battery electric or green hydrogen powered. We’re seeking the best ideas and technology from innovators around the globe who might be prepared to work with us. New Zealand is ideally suited to adopt zero emissions aircraft, as we have a number of short-range routes that are perfect candidates for utilising these new technologies, and our renewable energy sources make it possible to eliminate carbon emissions effectively.”
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