Air New Zealand delivers strong year-on-year improvement in June operational performance

In June, Air New Zealand operated 12,279 flights across its domestic and international network with 86 percent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule. 

While June's on-time performance was down slightly from May's record 89.1 percent, the result represents a significant improvement on the same month last year, when 78.3 percent of flights arrived on time. 

Chief Operations Officer, Ground and In-Flight, Kate Boyer says June demonstrated the progress Air New Zealand is making towards building a more resilient operation that puts customers first. 

"June was another solid month for our operations. While our on-time performance eased slightly compared with May, it came during a month where we managed several significant operational challenges, including the fire at Wellington Airport, periods of severe winter weather, and other disruptions outside our control. 

"Despite those challenges, our overall on-time performance improved by almost eight percentage points compared with June last year with every part of our network contributing to that improvement. 

"We know reliability is one of the things our customers value most. Every improvement we make means more people arriving on time, making connections, getting home to their families, or starting their holidays and business trips as planned." 

One of the biggest contributors to the gain was a significant reduction in reactionary delays, where a delay to one flight impacts the rest of the day's schedule. Compared with June last year, reactionary delays were reduced by more than 50 percent, allowing quicker recovery from disruption and reducing knock-on delays across the network. 

"Building a more resilient airline starts with getting the basics right. Over the past year we've made changes to our regional schedule to improve reliability and rolled out a targeted programme of initiatives designed to improve our day-of execution discipline. We're seeing the benefits of that work through stronger on-time performance and a greater ability to recover when disruption does occur.  

"We're now taking those learnings and applying them across our jet network through schedule adjustments and operational improvements, so we can continue delivering a more reliable experience for our customers," Kate adds. 

Air New Zealand also continued to improve performance in cancellations with only 0.7 percent within the airline's control, down from 1.7 percent in June last year. While total cancellations increased to 3.3 percent of scheduled flights during June, these were primarily caused by factors outside the airline's control including severe weather and disruption caused by the fire at Wellington Airport. 

"That shows the areas we can directly influence continue to improve, even when operating conditions become more challenging. Reliable operations are fundamental to delivering for our customers and to our ambition of being the world's most respected airline. While there's always more to do, particularly as we move through winter, these results demonstrate the progress we're making through continued investment in our people, planning and technology at Air New Zealand," Kate finishes.