Air New Zealand, announcing its annual results yesterday, said it would continue to adapt to changing conditions “and remain profitable in a tough economic environmentâ€.
Air NZ revealed earnings before tax of NZ$137 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 2010.
“The uncertainty surrounding the global economic recovery has continued to suppress demand for air travel over the past 12 months,†said Air NZ chairman John Palmer.
“We continue to be more profitable than most of our peers on a comparable basis,†he added.
Operating revenue was down 12 percent to $4.0 billion; passenger demand was down 4.7 percent but load factor was up 2.8 percentage points to 81.8 percent.
Air NZ chief Rob Fyfe said, “Our proposed trans-Tasman alliance with Virgin Blue will create a far better and more sustainable service through working together, providing a greatly enhanced offering to our customers that will stimulate demand.
“We await regulatory approval on both sides of the Tasman to enable us to compete more effectively against the Qantas Group in the Australasian market.â€
