Air New Zealand is forecasting a profit for the first half of the year on strong demand and sales.
The airline said it expects pre-tax earnings for the first half of the 2023 financial year to be in the range of $200 million to $275m.
It says it has continued to see strong forward sales, particularly for travel through to January next year and continues to operate at approximately 70 per cent of 2019 financial year capacity.
The forecast assumes this forward sales strength continues over the coming quarter, with similar capacity and assuming an average jet fuel price of approximately US$130 ($220) a barrel.
"The airline notes that fuel prices remain highly volatile and that this is one of many factors that have the potential to slow our recovery and significantly impact earnings. Additionally, demand in the second half of the financial year remains highly uncertain," it said in an NZX notice.