Auckland Airport shareholders reminded the company of where things have gone wrong recently after coming through international arrivals, describing it as an “absolute zoo” and the experience as “absolutely disgusting”.
But the company says the worst of the problems have passed, and chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui says this coming summerwill be better than last, in spite of the surge in passenger numbers with the influx of new international flights.
Both she and company chairman Patrick Strange acknowledged at the annual shareholders’ meeting the experience was unacceptable, but pointed out the number of agencies and airlines that need to work together to improve it and that getting through the airport had improved in the past month.
One shareholder who said his experience of moving through the airport in the past two days was fine contrasted with that of a month ago, when it was an “absolute zoo”. Another said there were lengthy queues stretching out the door, and it was “absolutely disgusting” that elderly people were wandering around the airport looking for help.
Hurihanganui said in a speech that she acknowledged as passenger numbers recovered, the journey back to full capacity had not always been smooth.
“I can assure you that bringing a better experience to customers is our absolute priority to ensure a less stressful and more enjoyable journey for travellers.”
Most of the recent problems have been experienced in the international arrivals area – a system that is made up of the airport, airlines, the airline ground handling staff, and Government agencies – Customs and Biosecurity NZ.
“It takes teamwork and co-operation to get the system working efficiently, and we have experienced more bumps than we would like in recent times.”
There were global staff shortages in aviation and organisations are experiencing issues with recruitment and training. The airport has building work in the arrivals hall, constraining space efficiency in the short term.
During the past month, the airport had doubled the number of front-line customer experience staff to more than 60, and the level of staff in these roles is now 41 per cent higher than at the same time in 2019.
The Auckland International Airport shareholders' meeting at Eden Park. Photo / Grant Bradley
There are now separate lanes for Australian and New Zealand passport holders at MPI and the airport was supporting ground handlers to more efficiently use the baggage system for a faster return of checked bags to travellers.
She said following the meeting that she had worked in customer service for much of her career and fixing the problems at the airport was personal for her.
She said a framework to improve service was in place, and if there weren’t unforeseen events or high rates of staff sickness in the system, this summer should be better than a year ago, when travel was hit by weather disruption and high rates of lost bags.
During the last year, 15.9 million passengers passed through Auckland Airport, short of the pre-pandemic number of 21m. It is expected there will be 19.1m people going through the airport in the current year.
In the 2023 financial year, 25 airlines flew to and from 40 destinations via Auckland Airport. This was close to doubling from the toughest days of the pandemic – where it experienced lows of 12 airlines flying to just 21 destinations.
The airport is forecasting a 29 per cent increase in flight capacity from November to March next year compared to the same period prior to the pandemic.
Auckland International Airport’s full-year net profit after tax fell 77 per cent while its underlying profit boomed, leading to the airport announcing its first dividend in three years - four cents a share.
Reported net profit tumbled to $43.2m in the 2023 financial year, down 77 per cent on the $191m in net profit that the airport reported in 2022 and a 90.7 per cent plummet from the net profit result in 2021.
But underlying profit jumped to $148.1m for the 12 months to June, up from a loss of $11.6m in 2022.
Guidance of underlying profit hadn’t changed since its full-year profit announcement in August.
Underlying profit after tax of between $260m to $280m was forecast for the 2024 financial year. Capital spending of between $1 billion and $1.4b was expected.
Based on the International Air Travel Association’s (IATA) outlook for global air travel, it expected total passenger numbers to recover to pre-pandemic levels during 2025.
“For the full 2024 financial year, we anticipate international passenger numbers will be around 92 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, with domestic passenger numbers at around 89 per cent.”
This would mean overall passenger numbers of around 19.1m for the 2024 financial year – or an estimated extra 3.2m passengers through terminal doors for this financial year compared to last.
Shares opened today at $7.92 but were trading at $7.85 mid-afternoon. Last month, Auckland Council sold 7 per cent of its stake at an average price of $8.11, returning $833m to reduce debt.
Grant Bradley has worked at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
