August 28, 2025 • 6 mins
The boss of Air Zealand says he's proud they've made even two cents of a dollar this year - as profits drop 13.7 percent.
The airline's being hit hard by a sluggish domestic economy, with costs like landing charges, wages, and engineering material rising much faster than inflation.
Outgoing CEO Greg Foran says he appreciates it's been a difficult few years.
"Whether it was starting when Covid began and doing capital raises and then hurriedly having to restart the business, and then a parade of engine challenges and now we've got a few other headwinds - but you learn."
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk zed be
follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
A greeg Foreun has delivered his final profit as the
boss of Air New Zealand before he leaves in a
couple of months time. The airline offered him an extra
nine hundred thousand dollars to stay on, but he decided
to leave anyway. In New Zealand made an annual net
profit after tacks of one hundred and twenty six million dollars.
That is down fourteen percent on the year before. And
Gregor is with us.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hello Greg Hi there, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm well? Thank you your final result?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
But as sweet yes it is. You know, I've been
almost six years at the airline and been incredibly enjoyable.
So bit sad leaving a number of people in a
few weeks time, but also excited for Nickel and his
opportunity and also for the rest of the team.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah do you. I mean it's been a tough industry
to be in the last few years. Probably couldn't have
been worse. Are you happy to put it behind you?
Do you know?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
As you reflect on these things, you always more when
it's hard than when things are easy. So I do
actually appreciate the fact that it has been difficult. And
you know, whether it was starting when COVID began and
doing capital raises and then hurriedly having to restart the
business and sort of a parade of engine challenges, and
(01:27):
now we've got a few other headwinds. But you learn,
and I would say to you that I'm proud of
what we've done and what we're doing and the way
we're setting ourselves up.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So why are you leaving?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, I've got another, you know, itch that I need
to scratch in terms of what I want to do,
and I can't share anything about that at this stage.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So there is something here. It's not just lying in
the sun.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No. And secondly, if you've got succession in place at
a point in time, you need to let people get
on and do that because otherwise you stand the risk
of losing them.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Can you at least tell us if your etches locally
or overseas?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I can't at this stage.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm sorry you heard the rumors.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I've not heard any room are too busy.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The rumors either that you're the new Rugby boss.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I've not heard that rumor and as I said.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
So we can scratch that one off, can we?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I have no knowledge of anything now.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Listen, profit down this year, profit down last year. When
does it turn around? Do you think?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I think we're in for another challenging year this year,
to be honest, so perhaps a year after. But it's
going to be tough this year.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Is it?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
The difference?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Different set of circumstances. We're still dealing with engines. We
don't expect any significant improvement there, and we've said, you know, look,
we came in at one hundred and eighty nine pre tax.
We would have done another one hundred and sixty five
million on top of that if we could have flown
what we wanted to. We ended up flying less than
what we did the previous year, which is never what
(02:56):
you want to do, but that's what happens. The economy
is still pretty tough out there domestically, and you know that,
and your listeners know it, our customers know it. So
we're dealing with that, and we're seeing that with sort
of less government spend, less corporate spend, and even leisure
travel domestically is still pretty tough. But the other thing
(03:17):
that we're leaning into is we get a fair amount
of inflation coming our way, and inflation that you would
expect on things like spare parts comes our way, and
it's been forty percent over the last five years, but
it's ten percent again on top of that this year.
But then we're seeing other services that we get and
that could be CIA airways, airports. If I just took
(03:40):
those three that the airports, the CIA, av SEC and airways,
that's laid in eighty four million dollars worth of cost
for us just this year. So we're going to work
out how to become more efficient. We're doing some of that,
lots of things that I could talk about, but as
well as that, we absorb a bit and you can
see that in the profit result. And then of course
(04:02):
you do have to pass some on.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Yeah, so do you have I mean, as a guy
leave and leaving an industry where it is really tough
to the point that we have regional airlines asking for help,
what would be your advice to the government to help them?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Well, I would look a field and say what do
you see happening elsewhere? And you know, if I look
at Australia twenty seven twenty eight million people, two airlines
and they struggle to make a regional airline work. Example Rex,
(04:38):
so I think Rex recently got about a fifty million
dollar bailout by the Australian government in order to keep
flying two locations. Similar sorts of things happen in the US.
If I look in places like Finland and Sweden, I
see that happening. If we want airlines to operate in
really remote locations, they're going to need a hand. And
(05:02):
that hand could come by having a look at the
total ecosystem and saying how do we deal with all
the costs that are in that ecosystem, and or it
could be some type of financial assistance. It's tough running
an airline, you know, they are really capital intensive. We've
(05:23):
made this year two cents and a dollar, and I'm
actually proud of the result. We had to work really
hard to do that. We've tried to keep fears reasonable
and at the end of the day, two cents in
the dollar and we've still got to buy new planes.
You know, I've got two new Boeings coming in the
beginning of next year. You don't get much change out
(05:44):
of two hundred million dollars for each plane.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, I'll tell you what if I was you, I'd
be very happy to leave two cents and a dollar
behind and go to greener pastures. Tell me, if you're
not going to tell us what you're doing, are you
at least going to get a break before you do it?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Look, that will depend on what I end up doing,
and I haven't decided yet. So maybe my wife loves me,
but she also loves me outworking.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Wife.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Greeg.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Thank you very much, Greek for in New Zealand's chief executive.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
For more from News Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk zed be
follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
A greeg Foreun has delivered his final profit as the
boss of Air New Zealand before he leaves in a
couple of months time. The airline offered him an extra
nine hundred thousand dollars to stay on, but he decided
to leave anyway. In New Zealand made an annual net
profit after tacks of one hundred and twenty six million dollars.
That is down fourteen percent on the year before. And
Gregor is with us.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hello Greg Hi there, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm well? Thank you your final result?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
But as sweet yes it is. You know, I've been
almost six years at the airline and been incredibly enjoyable.
So bit sad leaving a number of people in a
few weeks time, but also excited for Nickel and his
opportunity and also for the rest of the team.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah do you. I mean it's been a tough industry
to be in the last few years. Probably couldn't have
been worse. Are you happy to put it behind you?
Do you know?
Speaker 3 (01:05):
As you reflect on these things, you always more when
it's hard than when things are easy. So I do
actually appreciate the fact that it has been difficult. And
you know, whether it was starting when COVID began and
doing capital raises and then hurriedly having to restart the
business and sort of a parade of engine challenges, and
(01:27):
now we've got a few other headwinds. But you learn,
and I would say to you that I'm proud of
what we've done and what we're doing and the way
we're setting ourselves up.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So why are you leaving?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Well, I've got another, you know, itch that I need
to scratch in terms of what I want to do,
and I can't share anything about that at this stage.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So there is something here. It's not just lying in
the sun.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No. And secondly, if you've got succession in place at
a point in time, you need to let people get
on and do that because otherwise you stand the risk
of losing them.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Can you at least tell us if your etches locally
or overseas?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I can't at this stage.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm sorry you heard the rumors.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I've not heard any room are too busy.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
The rumors either that you're the new Rugby boss.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I've not heard that rumor and as I said.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
So we can scratch that one off, can we?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I have no knowledge of anything now.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Listen, profit down this year, profit down last year. When
does it turn around? Do you think?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I think we're in for another challenging year this year,
to be honest, so perhaps a year after. But it's
going to be tough this year.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Is it?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
The difference?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Different set of circumstances. We're still dealing with engines. We
don't expect any significant improvement there, and we've said, you know, look,
we came in at one hundred and eighty nine pre tax.
We would have done another one hundred and sixty five
million on top of that if we could have flown
what we wanted to. We ended up flying less than
what we did the previous year, which is never what
(02:56):
you want to do, but that's what happens. The economy
is still pretty tough out there domestically, and you know that,
and your listeners know it, our customers know it. So
we're dealing with that, and we're seeing that with sort
of less government spend, less corporate spend, and even leisure
travel domestically is still pretty tough. But the other thing
(03:17):
that we're leaning into is we get a fair amount
of inflation coming our way, and inflation that you would
expect on things like spare parts comes our way, and
it's been forty percent over the last five years, but
it's ten percent again on top of that this year.
But then we're seeing other services that we get and
that could be CIA airways, airports. If I just took
(03:40):
those three that the airports, the CIA, av SEC and airways,
that's laid in eighty four million dollars worth of cost
for us just this year. So we're going to work
out how to become more efficient. We're doing some of that,
lots of things that I could talk about, but as
well as that, we absorb a bit and you can
see that in the profit result. And then of course
(04:02):
you do have to pass some on.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Yeah, so do you have I mean, as a guy
leave and leaving an industry where it is really tough
to the point that we have regional airlines asking for help,
what would be your advice to the government to help them?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Well, I would look a field and say what do
you see happening elsewhere? And you know, if I look
at Australia twenty seven twenty eight million people, two airlines
and they struggle to make a regional airline work. Example Rex,
(04:38):
so I think Rex recently got about a fifty million
dollar bailout by the Australian government in order to keep
flying two locations. Similar sorts of things happen in the US.
If I look in places like Finland and Sweden, I
see that happening. If we want airlines to operate in
really remote locations, they're going to need a hand. And
(05:02):
that hand could come by having a look at the
total ecosystem and saying how do we deal with all
the costs that are in that ecosystem, and or it
could be some type of financial assistance. It's tough running
an airline, you know, they are really capital intensive. We've
(05:23):
made this year two cents and a dollar, and I'm
actually proud of the result. We had to work really
hard to do that. We've tried to keep fears reasonable
and at the end of the day, two cents in
the dollar and we've still got to buy new planes.
You know, I've got two new Boeings coming in the
beginning of next year. You don't get much change out
(05:44):
of two hundred million dollars for each plane.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, I'll tell you what if I was you, I'd
be very happy to leave two cents and a dollar
behind and go to greener pastures. Tell me, if you're
not going to tell us what you're doing, are you
at least going to get a break before you do it?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Look, that will depend on what I end up doing,
and I haven't decided yet. So maybe my wife loves me,
but she also loves me outworking.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Wife.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Greeg.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Thank you very much, Greek for in New Zealand's chief executive.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
For more from News Talk set B listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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