Air NZ schedule update – Pratt & Whitney engine impacts

Stock exchange listings: New Zealand (NZX: AIR) / Australia (ASX: AIZ) / ADR (OTC: ANZLY)


MARKET ANNOUNCEMENT

Air New Zealand postal address: Private Bag 92007, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
Investor Relations email: investor@airnz.co.nz
Investor website: www.airnewzealand.co.nz/investor


7 November 2023
Air New Zealand schedule update – Pratt & Whitney engine impacts

• Consolidated flying schedule
• Paused schedule for Hobart and Seoul from April 2024
• External contact centre support to almost double workforce


Air New Zealand now has a clearer understanding of the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine
maintenance schedule changes and the impact it will have on our customers.


In July 2023, Pratt & Whitney disclosed a condition affecting the maintenance plan for the Geared
Turbofan (GTF) jet engine fleet. Up to 700 engines globally will be impacted over the next three
years, with the effect on global aviation felt most keenly in the coming year.


“Air New Zealand has 17 A320/321NEO aircraft in its fleet of 108 aircraft, serving Australia, the
Pacific Islands and domestic New Zealand. While this maintenance issue does not present a
safety issue, it has caused Air New Zealand to revise its flight schedule as a result of adjustments
made to the engine maintenance plan,” says Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg
Foran.


“We’ve been able to reorganise most of our schedule by consolidating some flying and moving
aircraft to different routes. Most customers whose flights have been changed will still fly on the
same day, some on international flights will be reaccommodated to services a day either side of
their original booking and some may have a cabin change due to a different aircraft being used.

“We have also taken the difficult decision to pause two of our international routes. Flights
connecting Auckland and Hobart will pause from 5 April 2024, with our Auckland to Seoul service
paused from 1 April 2024. The pause on flying to Seoul is to allow more resiliency when the
Trent1000 engines that power our 787 fleet go for regular maintenance due to potential issues
with the availability of spare engines from Rolls Royce to cover the maintenance period.

“While both routes have performed well, we need to ensure we can deliver a reliable service
across the rest of our network and get customers on our most in-demand routes to where they
need to be. Customers will still be able to book to Hobart and Seoul with Air New Zealand, but
these flights won’t be direct and will be partly operated by our partner airlines.


Impacted customers do not need to contact Air New Zealand, they will be contacted in the coming
weeks.


Mr Foran says the impacts of the Pratt & Whitney servicing schedule change are significant and
could impact services for up to two years. Due to engine availability as a result of the P&W
maintenance issues, the airline will have up to four aircraft grounded at any one time. The

Stock exchange listings: New Zealand (NZX: AIR) / Australia (ASX: AIZ) / ADR (OTC: ANZLY)


MARKET ANNOUNCEMENT

Air New Zealand postal address: Private Bag 92007, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
Investor Relations email: investor@airnz.co.nz
Investor website: www.airnewzealand.co.nz/investor


company is also managing other supply chain issues which airlines globally are facing as it looks
to put additional fleet cover in place.


“Leasing additional aircraft is an option we are looking at closely. Our latest leased Boeing 777-
367ER aircraft is about to enter service and we are considering other lease options.


“Whenever we make changes to our schedule, it results in additional demand on our
contact centre. Given call volumes continue to rise, we have taken the decision to increase
the support we receive from external companies, increasing the number of consultants who
respond to customer queries significantly. We will continue to recruit locally for the
contact centre.


“The aviation industry is complex and it’s a difficult time in the aviation eco-system. We appreciate
these changes will disappoint some of our customers, for which we apologise. It’s not the news
we hoped for given our announcement earlier this year that we had purchased new aircraft to
add capacity and assist in meeting ongoing strong demand. Although those new aircraft are still
due to arrive – two new ATRs in late 2024/early 2025, two new A321NEOs in early 2025 together
with two domestic A321s and eight B787s being delivered between 2024 and 2027 – these
network and schedule changes have been required to manage an issue that no one expected
just a few months ago.


“We would like to thank our loyal customers for their ongoing support. We will continue to do
everything we can to ensure stability across our network.”




Ends.

For investor relations queries please contact: For media enquiries, please contact:
Kim Cootes Air New Zealand Communications
Head of Investor Relations Email: media@airnz.co.nz
kim.cootes@airnz.co.nz Phone: +64 21 747 320
+64 27 297 0244