Air New Zealand – get woke, go broke

“Air NZ’s $59 million half-year loss is an invitation for them to reflect on their priorities,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Organisations and countries suffer when they focus on the wrong things. ACT has led the charge for the public service to stop focusing on equity at the expense of outcomes. Air NZ appears to be suffering from the same affliction.

“For years I have heard Air NZ talking about electric planes that don’t take passengers and so-called sustainable aviation fuel. These virtue-signalling fantasies are distractions from core business.

“Air NZ’s service is burning unimaginable volumes of kerosene to blast giant metal machines through the sky just below the speed of sound. This is a triumph of human ingenuity. Air New Zealand should spend less time greenwashing this and more time focussing on opening new routes, bringing down prices, and optimising their services.

“Other airlines are opening new domestic routes in New Zealand while Air NZ is reducing services with skyrocketing prices. Return flights from Wellington to Invercargill cost $900, flights to Australia are often cheaper than that. It's not feasible to charge ordinary Kiwis that much to travel within our small country and still blame a weak domestic market for their problems.

“Kiwis I talk to have pretty straightforward desires – more domestic services at fair prices.

“My message to Air NZ is simple: take this loss as a wake up call, cut the greenwashing, and get back to core business – giving a good service to the Kiwis who collectively own your company.”