Goodbye London, hello New York
An Air NZ crew found out midflight that their London base was being disestablished – but industry commentators say the airline’s decision was not a surprise.
The airline revealed yesterday it will stop its daily Los Angeles to London service from October next year and close its London base. It will mean the loss of 130 jobs. It will instead run a direct flight from Auckland to New York. E tu¯ union head of aviation Savage said Kiwi travellers were increasingly choosing to fly to Britain and Europe via Asia, so the move was not surprising.
‘‘After 36 years, it is definitely the end of an era.’’
Thirty of the affected crew were New Zealanders, he said.
An Air NZ spokeswoman said the airline had made a concerted effort to communicate directly with all affected people as at closely the same time as possible, and before the decision was made public. ‘‘One flight with affected employees was operating at the time ... and senior leaders were on board this service to brief and support the team.’’
Brent Thomas, commercial director at House of Travel, said the decision would not have much impact on travellers.
He said there were many options for New Zealanders wanting to get to Britain. They could fly to New York with Air NZ and then complete the ‘‘short hop’’ across the Atlantic.
But he said the New York route would create a significant increase in the number of New Zealanders going to the United States for business or holidays.
It would also open up travel between the eastern seaboard of the US and New Zealand, he said. He expected to see more Americans travelling here as a result.
Irene King, aviation industry consultant, said the Los Angeles to London route had been marginal for some time. Code-share arrangements gave the airline more options to have a presence there even if Air NZ-branded planes were not flying.
She said Air NZ would have no competition on the New York route. There was increasing
Commentator Benje Patterson
‘‘New York flights can leverage off existing ... resources based in Auckland.’’
interest in flights from the east of the US to Australasia, she said. Qantas recently completed a test flight from Sydney to New York.
Commentator Benje Patterson said the profits for Air NZ filling a plane to New York were greater than filling a plane between Los Angeles and London. ‘‘This premium has nothing to do with ticket sales and prices, it all boils down to cost. New York flights can leverage off existing ground and crewing resources based in Auckland. In comparison, the London services involved the costly duplication of these resources halfway across the globe, to service one route,’’ Patterson said. ‘‘Air NZ has simply decided it needs to focus its resources on where it can make its highest bang for buck.’’