Indigenous Maori groups are threatening to boycott Air New Zealand, accusing the flag carrier of cultural appropriation.
They are annoyed because Air NZ has applied to trademark ‘kia ora’, which is the name of its in-flight magazine.
However, ‘kia ora’ it is an indigenous greeting commonly used by all New Zealanders.
"The words ‘kia ora’ are Maori and for them to be commercialised is a disgraceful act," said Maori Council spokesman Brent Reihana.
"They’re two words that are synonymous not just with Maori but with all of New Zealand. I don’t think it’s appropriate to take it into a commercial context.
"The appropriation of culture has never been right … Maori isn’t for sale."
The airline claims it is standard practice and is only for the magazine’s Kia Ora logo.
It has no intention of limiting the use of the phrase itself, it says.
That hasn’t satisfied the Maori community, which has no issue with the airline using it but the granting of an official trademark implies legal ownership, it claims.
"The logo commercialises the words … we have no problem with them using the words but they should not be attempting to link trademarks to them, even if it is only a logo," Reihana said.
The airline has long used the phrase in the logo but decided to trademark it after a recent brand refresh of the magazine.
