Air NZ has cachet with Chinese flyers
Scott Cara took up the role of Air New Zealand’s Regional General Manager Asia in April 2016. Shanghai-based Cara has global experience including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. But despite that he says his current role in China is the most competitive market he has ever worked in.
“The aviation market in China has seen enormous growth in recent years. Particularly in the last 18-24 months, we’re seeing quite a number of new carriers entering second tier cities, second tier carriers, that kind of thing” he says.
“Not everyone is focused on short to medium term EBIT. Some are in it with a long-term strategy, and others are just opportunistic cash flow searching. It’s a really interesting, challenging environment.”
Cara says the volume of the marketplace in China can seduce companies into losing sight of brand value and quality.
But he adds that New Zealand is a destination that carries a cachet with Chinese consumers, which has helped Air New Zealand position itself into a higher yielding market segment.
“From an Air New Zealand perspective, and indeed from a New Zealand country perspective, I think we’ve always got to maintain our focus on the value for money proposition rather than the pricing proposition,” he says.
“Air New Zealand is the only airline that can say: your holiday starts the moment you get on board.” global brand campaign in China. The hero video — featuring Pete the Kiwi — has achieved over 14 million views in China and has helped highlight some of the unique product and personality differences Air New Zealand offers its customers.
Last month, Air New Zealand released it’s “World’s Coolest Safety Video” set in Antarctica, which has already achieved nearly 8 million views.
“The digital online environment and the way that people consume media in China has helped us have a huge uptake in terms of video views and in terms of generating a positive brand impression,” says Cara. produce and meat. Fresh seafood and stonefruit have had strong growth in the last year, with some fresh fish shipments increasing by 87 per cent on Air New Zealand’s services.
“Chinese consumers put a premium on freshness and safety.
“New Zealand’s reputation and quality of products means that to the Chinese consumer our export products are in high demand and maintain a premium price in the market,” says Cara.
“As new products are signed off and listed in the FTA we see strong growth for that product. Demand for fresh milk is continually growing.”
Out of China, cargo tends to be high-end electronics, with significant bumps in demand during new phone or electronics launches.
“Cargo tends to be a bit of a lead indicator for us at times, so we look at the growth in that side of our business as being a good indicator for our future in the market,” says Cara.