KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe made plenty of headlines last year, with a battle brewing over airport landing charges, a failed attempt to share Tasman services with Qantas and ongoing conflict with unions over potential staffing changes.
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How would you describe 2006 for Air New Zealand?
It has been a challenging year. We've probably created more change in our organisation in this single year than we have tried to create at any point in the last couple of decades.
What was your greatest achievement?
We've demonstrated we can move faster than our competitors. We've got our new product on board faster than our competitors, reconfigured our network faster than our competitors and we've repositioned our engineering business faster than our competitors could.
And greatest disappointment?
The failure to get the code share across the line was a genuine disappointment.
What do you think 2007 will bring for Air NZ?
For us 2007 is all about growth. We've got lots of new aircraft; we've got new routes.
What will be the major challenges in 2007?
Our challenge is to re-learn how to grow the business. For the last decade we've been growing at about 1 per cent per annum and this coming year we are going to grow at 6-7 per cent. That is a real challenge. It's not about restructuring, it's not about taking cost out per se, it's about building a belief in ourselves that we can grow this business. But we can't grow like that unless tourism grows. So part of that challenge is to get New Zealand as a whole believing we can grow rather than Air New Zealand trying to do that in isolation.
What do you expect from the economy in 2007 and how will that affect Air NZ?
There are two parts to that question for us. On our long haul aircraft two-thirds of the passengers are inbound, so what really drives it is how the economies are offshore. In that regard economies in our key markets are mostly looking very strong. We're happy with the strength of the Asian economies, the European economies; the US economy is causing a little bit of concern. I suspect it will be a relatively neutral economy domestically. I would expect to see modest growth domestically. Any significant domestic growth will come from us lowering prices and stimulating demand. There won't be an underlying significant growth in demand.
What was the most interesting business story of 2006?
The environmental issue, carbon credits emissions and so on. For us as a remote nation so dependent on transport links, trade and tourism, I think this is one of the biggest issues we face as a nation. The risk is that we get on some bandwagon along with a bunch of other nations and don't sit back and think: how do we address this challenge and opportunity from a national interest basis.
Who were your mentors? What did they teach you?
A chap by the name of Lindsay Pyne. He was CEO of BNZ back in the early 90s and I worked for him at an important stage of my career. He taught me the importance of people in a business and the importance of having a clear vision for a business.
Where are you going for the holidays?
I'll hide away on Waiheke [Island]. I spend all my work days travelling, so my holidays are all about trying to avoid travelling.
What will you be reading?
Apart from reading my wife's trashy magazines, I'll probably read a couple of good thriller novels. I don't have anything yet, but something easy-going.
