Read it for yourself at the end of this story.
KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand has told staff confidential information must stay confidential after plans may have been leaked to a potential new rival.
The airline said today plans announced for a new budget airline included plans which were remarkably similar to Air New Zealand proposals.
An American aviation specialist said he had $27 million backing from overseas investors for a new budget domestic airline in New Zealand.
The proposed budget airline, to be called Kiwijet, would initially fly two Boeing 737-300 aircraft between Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.
The plans were said to include a flat ticket price of $150 on any of the routes.
Air New Zealand said it had no evidence staff had leaked anything to the potential rival, however, staff had been advised in a memo yesterday "it was important they keep information commercially confidential", Air NZ spokesman David Jamieson said.
He would not say what plans suggested for the new airline were similar to those being considered by Air New Zealand.
"We found it quite coincidental that Kiwijet came up with some ideas very similar to things we have quietly been working on," Mr Jamieson said.
"It just seemed odd, that's all, but we have got no evidence of leaks or anything like that."
He would not give details of similarities between Air NZ's plans and Kiwijet's plans, saying it was commercially confidential.
* * *
nzherald.co.nz has obtained a copy of the memo in question. This is exactly what Air NZ staff received yesterday:
"Maintaining Commercial Confidentiality
We have spent the last four years repositioning Air New Zealand to once again be a strong competitive force on routes to, from and within New Zealand. In the process we have improved our productivity, our on-board product, our technology, our innovation, our creativity and agility.
A few months ago we initiated a strategic review of all aspects of our business, to determine what we need to do to retain our competitiveness and to ensure we could continue to adapt our business at speed, and develop new markets and new product offerings that will ensure we remain at the forefront of our industry.
The initiatives that we are considering are wide ranging - everything from whether we should have a low-cost carrier operating alongside Air New Zealand in New Zealand; the type of products and services we offer on board and the potential ways that we could streamline the customer's journey, including travel to the airport and the airport experience.
It was therefore with concern that I received a media release yesterday announcing the intention of a proposed new airline, Kiwijet, to start services on domestic jet routes in New Zealand. New competition is always just around the corner, and in this instance many of the services proposed by Kiwijet bear a surprising similarity to opportunities we have been exploring with our strategic review.
This is a very important and timely reminder of how important confidentiality is in such a fiercely competitive industry - and I have today launched a security review in order to establish whether there has been a leak of confidential information.
Air New Zealand is a great airline well on its way to being world class. More people are flying on us than ever before, and the level of positive customer feedback continues to climb. We can only continue on this journey if we remain nimble and one step ahead of the competition. We must all be careful to ensure that confidential company information remains secure at all times.
NATHAN AGNEW
General Manager Strategy"
- NZPA
