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Air New Zealand trims seat capacity amid staffing shortages
August 15th 2022
Air New Zealand (AirNZ) is cutting capacity across its domestic and international networks to better manage flight disruptions caused by staff absences from COVID-19. Read More » The Star Alliance member will reduce seats by 1.5% in the next six months. The changes mean the airline will be at 90% of pre-COVID-19 capacity levels for the period. “Looking at the disruptions our customers and staff have faced in the last five weeks, we have made some adjustments to reduce short notice cancellations in the months ahead,” Air NZ CEO, Greg Foran, said. “While we did factor sickness into our ramp up plan, we have seen the highest rates of crew sickness in more than a decade. We see these challenges continuing not just for crew, but for our whole operation so we are making proactive changes to address them.” Foran said the updated schedule will allow the airline to have crew on standby to cover illness. The carrier also is exploring options to lease a crewed wide-body aircraft for the peak summer season.
