Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon urged everyone involved in tourism in New Zealand to “have courage in the face of opportunity.”
He wants the opportunity he sees as having been outlined by Tourism 2025 to be converted “ruthlessly.”
He added: “It’s a big world and we need to come together.”
Air New Zealand is investing in its fleet, lounges, technology and people in order to achieve its growth aims.
The airline recently took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 and has upped its initial order of six planes to 10. And the older craft in the fleet will be updated in order to ensure consistent quality.
Top notch lounges in Auckland and Sydney will be coming shortly and the airline wants to upgrade its key regional lounges too across the country.
It has seen a significant increase in mobile bookings so is in the process of seriously upgrading its apps.
And, according to Luxon, all of this investment is pointless without investing in people.
The airline’s Project Enhance has seen staff in every part of the business trained to ensure excellent customer service.
He revealed that the cost of fuel has gone up 35% in the last 5 years but that they were working hard on efficiency to make sure this doesn’t get passed on to the customer.