On top of that it is gifting more than a billion Qantas Points shared between Frequent Flyers who have flown at least one Qantas flight in the past 12 months in recognition of their loyalty.
Foran said such promotions around the profit announcements were not his style.
“We have a different approach and it’s an approach that I’ve stuck to, not just at Air New Zealand, but any business I’ve been in. It’s five stakeholders, I’m interested in customers, staff, shareholders, suppliers and communities. I play a long game and that’s the way that I’ve always done,” he said.
“I don’t think about coming up with gimmicks or events. I’m not really interested in coming out with Grabaseat flights a week before the results are out there - I think people see through all of that.”
Foran said the airline was making progress on the things that matter to customers.
“Contact centre wait times have, on average, reduced by 75 per cent since December, we’ve introduced an enhanced app, and we’ve had a step change in on-time performance and more importantly, a reduction in cancellations. This June we were one of the best airlines in the Asia Pacific region at arriving on time, so we have momentum.”
Capacity is approaching pre-Covid levels and the airline was operating up to 500 flights a day.
He said it was not only good for Kiwis who’ve been able to take that long-planned holiday, but it has also brought tourist dollars back to the regions and supports exporters who rely on regular air freight.
“We know increased costs and high demand have made flying more expensive. In the past year, we put more aircraft and seats in the air, so there are more choices for customers which helps alleviate the cost of flying. At the same time, our own costs continue to rise and the reality is that airfares are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels.”
