Tag Archives: Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand: An Unexpected Briefing

Air New Zealand: An Unexpected Briefing

Air New Zealand welcomes visitors to Middle Earth with a Hobbit themed safety video, An Unexpected Briefing.

Decades of Aisle Style

Decades of Aisle Style

With Air New Zealand celebrating its 30th anniversary of flights between London and Los Angeles, British lifestyle magazine Female First looks at the fashion of the airline over the decades. “Air New Zealand’s heritage can be…

Safety First with Al Bundy

Safety First with Al Bundy

New Plymouth-born actress Melanie Lynskey, 35, appears in cartoon alongside Married with Children and Modern Family star Ed O’Neill in the latest Air New Zealand airline safety video. Melanie seems a little … disappointed…

Air New Zealand: Safety Sketch

Air New Zealand: Safety Sketch

Ed O’Neill and Melanie Lynskey explain the dos and don’ts of flying in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video.

Big Plans for the Pacific Rim

Big Plans for the Pacific Rim

Former president and chief executive of Unilever’s Canadian business, New Zealander Christopher Luxon, 41, has been named Rob Fyfe’s successor as CEO of Air New Zealand. Luxon joined Air New Zealand in May 2011…

Making Small a Virtue

Making Small a Virtue

Chief executive officer of Air New Zealand Rob Fyfe, 51, talks to Monocle about the importance of national identity to the airline and staying competitive in the industry. “One of the goals we set…

Succeeding With Smarts

Succeeding With Smarts

In what airline revenue specialists say is a first for any airline, Air New Zealand has ventured into banking, converting its frequent-flier club members into financial services clients, with the OneSmart card. The card,…

New Zealand a Travel Success

New Zealand a Travel Success

New Zealand has won five awards at the 18th World Travel Awards in the Australasia category, with Air New Zealand voted as the region’s ‘leading airline’ and Wellington International as ‘leading airport’….

Air New Zealand: The Kiwi Sceptics

Air New Zealand: The Kiwi Sceptics

Air New Zealand brings Australian model Lara Bingle to New Zealand to change her mind about the country.

Repositioning Long-Haul Travel

Repositioning Long-Haul Travel

Air New Zealand’s “innovative” Skycouch Economy seat has won the Aviation category in Condé Nast Traveller’s 211 Innovation and Design Awards trumping new First Class A38 cabin designs entered by…

Air New Zealand: Fit To Fly

Air New Zealand: Fit To Fly

Richard Simmons gets you fit to fly in Air New Zealand’s in-flight safety video.

Air New Zealand: Crazy About Rugby

Air New Zealand: Crazy About Rugby

Air New Zealand show’s their crazy about rugby in their latest safety video.

Snoop and Rico Salute Sun

Snoop and Rico Salute Sun

Air New Zealand’s mascot Rico has teamed up with US rapper Snoop Dogg to produce a music video for the airline. Rico, whose controversial antics promoted Air New Zealand’s Skycouch, joins Snoop, who dons…

One big game changer

One big game changer

Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777-3ER is reviewed by industry publication NYCAviation reporter Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren who takes a detailed tour on board “one of the biggest game changers to hit the commercial aviation industry…

Stretching Out on High

Stretching Out on High

“In what is being hailed as the most important development in air travel for decades,” Air New Zealand has taken delivery of the world’s first passenger plane with a redesigned interior, allowing economy class…

Airline alliance

Airline alliance

Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue will form an alliance on trans-Tasman routes, after the competition regulator dropped its opposition to the plan. After indicating three months ago that it would block the deal,…

Air New Zealand’s All Blacks Livery

Air New Zealand’s All Blacks Livery

  Air New Zealand’s  new livery design showing support for the All Blacks in 2011.

Mood-lit air travel

Mood-lit air travel

“Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777-3ER passenger cabins look more like those inside a private jet than a commercial airliner,” according to Alan Ferguson reporting for The Province. “Redesigned from scratch, the mood-lit cabins…

Black in the sky

Black in the sky

Air New Zealand’s chief executive Rob Fyfe revealed images of the company’s design for a black domestic jet aircraft in Sydney this month. Fyfe said: “In celebration of Air New Zealand’s long running support…

Buckle up team

Buckle up team

A number of All Blacks, coach Graham Henry and rugby commentator Tony Johnson feature in Air New Zealand’s latest in-flight safety video. Henry, a former secondary school headmaster, playing the role of captain,…

End of an Era

End of an Era

New Zealand businessman and former chairman of Fletcher Challenge, Sir Ronald Ramsay Trotter, who was a vocal advocate of economic deregulation and personified big business in this country for nearly three decades, has died…

National carrier wins

National carrier wins

Air New Zealand has won the Australia-Pacific’s best airline and the region’s staff service excellence award and was voted fifth in the world in the annual Skytrax awards. Eighteen million people voted in this…

Lounging on Air

Lounging on Air

Air New Zealand is to introduce 22 “Skycouches” — formed out of three economy seats abreast that fold out to create a lie-flat space — in the first 11 rows in the economy cabin…

Top of the World

Top of the World

Air New Zealand has been named Airline of the Year, with judges of the Air Transport World magazine awards, “amazed and surprised at the degree of innovation that was occurring at a remote relatively…

In living memory

In living memory

“Three decades ago, New Zealand was a mass of tears. The country suffered its worst air tragedy ever when, on November 28, 1979, an Air New Zealand plane on a sightseeing flight over Antarctica…

Anniversary Apology

Anniversary Apology

Air New Zealand will apologise to relatives of the victims of the 1979 Mt Erebus plane crash which killed all 257 on board in Antarctica during a sightseeing flight. Chief executive Rob Fyfe is…

Travellers’ Top Spots

Travellers’ Top Spots

New Zealand took second place after Italy in a Condé Nast Traveler readers’ poll for best destination in the world. Each country was given a mark out of 100, with Italy scoring 95.55 and…

Cheap shots for seats

Cheap shots for seats

Air New Zealand recently used social-networking site Twitter to seek opinion on a new Grab-a-seat campaign, which featured six advertisements poking fun at six local destinations. The 9000 followers of Grab-a-seat were asked to…

Bare Essentials of Safety from Air New Zealand

Bare Essentials of Safety from Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand bares all on their in-flight safety video.

Flight of fancy

Flight of fancy

Air New Zealand has launched a raunchy new ad campaign called ‘Nothing to Hide‘ in which eight staff members, including chief executive Rob Fyfe, appear in just body paint. Amid these tough days…

Bald and branded

Bald and branded

Air New Zealand’s recent “billboard cranium” marketing stunt has been applauded by American Peter Shankman, author of Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work for their “Tom Sawyer handing out paintbrushes” approach….

Flying High

Flying High

Air New Zealand has made a bold move into the world of sustainability, becoming the first commercial airline to fly using an alternative fuel made from the jatropha plant. The airline recently conducted a…

Defender of the Skies

Defender of the Skies

Air New Zealand is aiming to be the cleanest airline on the planet, recently making headlines with fuel-saving and environmentally conscious initiatives including demonstrating a new way of flying an airplane and testing the…

Running on Jatropha

Running on Jatropha

Air New Zealand and Boeing plan a three-hour test-flight at the end of the year using fuel produced from jatropha, a poisonous tree which grows seeds rich in oil. The airline expects to use…

Natural Selection

Natural Selection

Telegraph writer Jonathan Ray discovers the art of high-altitude wine tasting with Air New Zealand’s team of wine buyers: Jim Harré, John Belsham and Kate Radburnd. Air NZ is the single largest purchaser of NZ wine…

Air NZ in Pioneering Partnership

Air NZ in Pioneering Partnership

Air New Zealand has signed an agreement with airplane maker Boeing and engine maker Rolls-Royce to collaborate on projects to make commercial aviation more environmentally sustainable. Stage one of the plan will see the first trial flight…

Influential Exports

Influential Exports

Two New Zealanders made The Bulletin‘s annual list of the 50 most influential businesspeople in Australia. Fairfax Media Chief Executive David Kirk is ranked fifteenth on the list. The former All Black Captain has headed the publishing…

Auckland Pioneers Landing Technique

Auckland Pioneers Landing Technique

Auckland International Airport is leading the world in trialling a landing method designed to reduce fuel use and emissions. Beginning April 18, the test landings will see selected Air NZ and Qantas jets glide into the…

NZ Retreat in Roppongi

NZ Retreat in Roppongi

Tourism NZ and Air NZ are co-sponsors of the New Zealand Travel Cafe, recently opened in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district. The café serves NZ burgers, beer, wine and ice cream, plays NZ music and houses a…

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s Wines Fly High

Air New Zealand’s premium on board wine selection has been recognised as one of the best in the world. UK Business Traveller magazine named Air New Zealand the winner of three awards in its annual Cellars…

Hands on High Flyer

Hands on High Flyer

Kiwi Carly Arnold has been named one of British magazine Management Today‘s 35 women under 35 for 2006. Arnold, 29, studied engineering and business at Auckland University and worked for Air NZ before landing a business…

Kiwi Creation Joins World’s Supercars

Kiwi Creation Joins World’s Supercars

NZ’s first supercar, the Hulme.F1, secured a rare invitation to show at Britain’s prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. The annual event showcases the latest designs by big names Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin, as well as…

Top Dog,Top Bloke

Top Dog,Top Bloke

Former Air NZ CEO, Ralph Norris, graces the cover of June’s Australian Financial Review Boss magazine. The lengthy profile is devoted to his new role as head of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank – the first major interview the…

The “Little Airline that Could”

The “Little Airline that Could”

Air NZ’s ongoing $800 million overhaul has not gone unnoticed in the US, with lengthy articles devoted to its new look 747’s in the LA Times and FirstClassFlyer. Upgrades include fold-out flat beds in business class, personal…

Norris Ready for Take Off

Norris Ready for Take Off

Ralph Norris is leaving the helm at Air NZ to return to banking as managing director and CEO of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank. Norris is credited with turning Air NZ’s fortunes around. “Air NZ’s financial position has never…

From the Ashes

From the Ashes

Air NZ was announced the winner of Air Transport World magazine’s annual Phoenix Award in January. The award is given to an airline which “achieves a commercial rebirth through a life-changing transformation.” After its “near-death experience”…

Fashion’s High Fliers

Fashion’s High Fliers

Air NZ has launched a much-needed overhaul of its flight attendants’ uniforms (last updated in 1991), with Elisabeth and Neville Findlay of Zambesi at the helm. The airline was recently announced as the new…

New Frontier

New Frontier

The NZ government’s multimillion dollar media campaign in the US aiming to lure wealthy Americans to “the new California” is the subject of a December Voice of America feature. Major selling points are the clean/green…

Glisten Like a Pearl …

Glisten Like a Pearl …

NZ locales and services scored points with international tourists in the annual Condé Nast Readers Choice Awards, the most prestigious and comprehensive poll of its kind. Christchurch and Queenstown ranked highly on the friendliness test, with 90.5 and…

Australia Looks to the Near East

Australia Looks to the Near East

The Australian features a 20 page special report on The Pacific. Strongly focused on NZ, the supplement includes a regional overview (“Australia is said to be the superpower of the South Pacific. If so then New…

EasyNZ

EasyNZ

Air NZ has responded to increased and heavily discounted competition by introducing a no-frills Tasman Express service. So far, the cheap fares are proving to be a lucrative addition; by mid-August, Air NZ had tripled its average…

Passengers May Remove Their Safety Belts?

Passengers May Remove Their Safety Belts?

The effects of war and the SARS crisis on tourism and travel may be looming for global airlines, but presently Air NZ is bucking the global downturn. The carrier recently reported a half-yearly net profit of…

Hobbits air-borne

Hobbits air-borne

Air New Zealand has launched its second “hobbit plane” with a maiden voyage to Los Angeles. The fuselage features Rings characters Aragorn and Arwen, as well as picturesque NZ scenery, in a canny marketing…

Frodo Air

Frodo Air

An Air NZ Boeing 747 has become the latest (and largest) Lord of the Rings billboard. The plane sports a 36m image of the hobbit leads down either side of its fuselage. The advertising is part…

Air New Zealand Mile High Grub

Air New Zealand Mile High Grub

Air New Zealand rates highly in a survey of post-Sept 11 airline food. As opposed to the “inedible” or nonexistent meals on many US carriers, Air NZ offers “selections like grilled herb marinated venison…

Best Haul

Best Haul

Ironically for Lynn, NZ was once again voted “Best Long Haul Country” over Australia, Cuba, Japan, Thailand et al by Guardian and Observer readers – they must have got off the bus and visited at…