There was "a real challenge making our regional services work" four years ago, when new Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon visited Hawke's Bay.
Hawke's Bay mayors were "very straight" about what was wrong, but after a $600 million investment the region had better aircraft, better airfares and a more sustainable service, he said.
"I get the sense this is a region on the move - there is good stuff happening right across the board," said Mr Luxon.
He told Napier City Council's Business Breakfast on Thursday that the 77-year-old airline was also on a roll. It was growing up to 8 per cent annually with a turnover of more than $5 billion, 11,800 employees, 32 international destinations, 21 domestic destinations and no other organisation spent more promoting New Zealand.
The profitable business over the past five years enabled a spend of $2.6b on new aircraft with $2.1b due to be spent on new planes in the next three years.