Maisie
I feel very sorry for Greg Foran. He’s been left holding the pinless hand grenade that has long been tossed around by the CEOs of Air New Zealand. It is now time to let Air New Zealand slip quietly into the night. It would then salvage some dignity and would certainly be the best option for the welfare of us all.
I’m delighted they haven’t drawn down the government’s $900 million loan yet. I hope they don’t – ever. What is needed is a phoenix to rise from the ashes of Air New Zealand’s burnt-out remains — one that will take flight in a new way and in new (regional?) directions.
For far too long, Air New Zealand has been seduced by its own marketing about how well it was doing, how lovely it was, how superior everything about it was, and all this on the international stage! This fantasy could not be further from the truth. Its disconnect from its customer base has been extreme for years. We all have our Air New Zealand horror stories, where we have been treated abruptly, rudely, unjustly, and infuriatingly, or just cut off after hours on hold to their call centre.
Their own overweening propaganda has contributed mightily to their downfall, and then, when we thought they could fall in our favour no further, they plumbed a new depth when, after COVID had hit us all so hard, they stated with breath-taking arrogance, that they legally didn’t need to refund non-refundable tickets! We all know that our legal system is not a justice system, but this was a new level of deprivation, even for Air New Zealand.
We were losing our jobs or taking enormous pay cuts, and while admittedly Mr Foran was trying to look after his own staff, there were families out of pocket to Air New Zealand by thousands of dollars, at a time when every cent counted. Air New Zealand’s reservoir of goodwill ran out long ago, but the fact that they are comfortable with being legally in the right about keeping everyone’s fares, even though the price of that legal rectitude is for us to consider them morally reprehensible, plumbed new depths of ill will.
Let us not bail them out once again, but in the spirit of the COVID and (hopefully) post-COVID era, enable the emergence of a new carrier. Perhaps some air service that is agile, as Air Chathams appears to be, could pick up the slack? Or a complete newcomer?
It would seem that domestic flights will be more in demand in the near future than international ones, so perhaps a new carrier could begin by building and consolidating those “around New Zealand” services? Perhaps an overseas carrier – like Singapore Airlines, who already fly here and are in some sort of alliance with Air New Zealand anyway – could concentrate on the international market?
Do we really need a “home grown” airline at all? We are a small nation of just over 5 million and even with all the travel we do, we have struggled to support a national airline. Why not let other carriers come in?
Current Air New Zealand employees could apply for new positions with the new carriers. The Air Force, long used by government officials for their travel, could continue in that role. In these times of profligate spending by the government, that $900 million might be more gainfully spent elsewhere. Air New Zealand is well beyond its expiry date and its ongoing arrogant attitude to its customers has surely sealed its fate. We are all fed up with it. Times have changed. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to look at new ways of providing a better service, update our air travel and look to the future. Carpe Diem.
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