Kiwi travellers wanting to fly beyond Australia and the South Pacific may be in luck by early 2022.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran spoke to business leaders in Hamilton on Tuesday, prior to Wellingtons covid scare, and gave his predictions on the shape of international travel over the next 12 months.
Foran expects the Government to take a pretty cautious approach to opening up the borders, with different travel rules applying to different destinations.
My guess would be that when you get to a point where the [Covid-19] vaccination is rolled out to such an extent that a community outbreak can feel like its controlled, my guess is well start to consider some long-haul flights … maybe the beginning of next year, he said.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has taught the airline to be comfortable being uncomfortable, with the Government giving Air New Zealand the same information as the public.
Occasionally, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern or Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson will give Foran a 10 30 minute advanced warning of an impending lockdown.
Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran says the airline has learnt to “be comfortable being uncomfortable”.
One of the skills weve had to learn this last year is this flexibility within the organisation, to spin on a dime, because we dont get any more notice really than what you do of whats going to happen, Foran said.
On Wednesday, Air New Zealand cancelled direct services from Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown to Sydney following a new Covid-19 cluster in Sydney.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said quarantine-free travel from New South Wales to New Zealand would be paused for 72 hours from midnight Tuesday while the sources of infection of the new Covid-19 cluster in Sydney was investigated.
Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran spoke to Hamilton business leaders on Tuesday. Foran was hosted by the Waikato Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Institute of Directors and Hamilton & Waikato Tourism.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, Foran said New Zealanders are a little bit hesitant to travel across the Tasman due to a concern of getting stuck in Australia. That concern will lessen over time.
Youll probably feel better about going to Maroochydore [in Australia] than you will about heading back to Rome, he said.
You sort of feel like you can swim back if theres a problem.
Looking ahead, Foran is keen for Air New Zealand to get into the North America market in a meaningful way, adding the airline has a competitive strength given other operators there have a high cost base.
A large gathering inside Skycity Hamilton listen to Foran speak about his early years spent in Hamilton and his career journey.
For New Zealanders wanting to fly to the United States, they may have to demonstrate theyve been vaccinated against Covid-19.
I dont think the United States will want that, but I think probably the New Zealand Government will, Foran said.
Travellers may have to undergo Covid-19 testing prior to returning to New Zealand and might have to agree to go into managed isolation, at their own cost, if they do catch the virus.
I suspect that if you go to India … Im guessing youre doing 14 days managed isolation [in New Zealand] regardless.
Domestically, air travel has recovered to about 90 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels. In the regions, passenger numbers are above pre-Covid-19 levels.
Foran said Air New Zealand has flown every single day since the pandemic crisis but noted one day in April last year when the airline only flew one plane with a single passenger onboard.