KEY POINTS:
In 1968 18-year-old Norm Thompson joined Air New Zealand, combining his favourite school subject of accounting and his interest in aeroplanes. Thirty years later he remains a fixture.
"Part of the family Sunday afternoon outing was to go and get an ice-cream and watch the aircraft come in to land," Thompson says.
Thompson, 57, recently became deputy chief executive - the latest in a long line of positions that began in the finance department.
When he joined the airline it was an international carrier only. In 1978 it merged with National Airways Corporation, employing about 2000 staff, compared to 10,500 today.
Life at Air New Zealand is more corporate nowadays but it is still important to have fun, Thompson says.
The variety of roles he has held within Air New Zealand has kept him motivated, challenged and on board. But the journey has not all been turbulence-free.
In 2000 he was vice-president of regional sales at the failed Ansett Australia Group.
"That was the worst year of my life," he says. "I was responsible for hundreds of staff and it was just horrible seeing that airline disappear between us."
Thompson says chief executive Rob Fyfe is a great leader.
"A combination of having somebody young and fresh come into that role working alongside myself, who's able to support him with the experience that I've got - it's a great combination."
Thompson will take a leadership role on issues such as environmental sustainability and tourism. He took on the chairmanship of the Tourism Industry Association last year.
The growing climate change debate was not yet affecting the decision of tourists to fly to New Zealand "but the mere fact that it's being talked about, we've got to sit up and take notice", Thompson says.
Overall airlines are small contributors to emissions but the perception among customers is they are significant polluters, he says.
"We have a major job to do there to make the airline more environmentally friendly than we are today and to be working with tourism to ensure that we have a product that is seen in the offshore market as being an environmentally friendly country."
Domestically, the airline's biggest competitor was the car, while internationally the challenge came not so much from other carriers as other destinations, Thompson says.
"It's all about price, price and price as far as domestic is concerned."
Perhaps unsurprisingly Thompson loves to fly and although he no longer sits in his car at the airport watching the planes take off. "It always fascinates me how a 747 can get up into the air - it's just an amazing piece of art."
Norm Thompson
* Age: 57
* Born: Wellington
* Home: Auckland
* School: Rongotai College, Selwyn College
* 1968: joined Air New Zealand finance division. Positions have included sales and marketing, regional general manager for the Americas, vice president regional sales at Ansett Australia Group, group general manager for short-haul airlines
* 2006: Tourism Industry Association, chairman
* 2007: Deputy chief executive
