Capacity Issues Continue at Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand’s capacity was down 2.7% in May 2025 compared to May 2024, according to the airline’s May 2025 investor update released late last week.

Long haul available seat kilometres dropped 2.2%, short haul available seat kilometres decreased 2.2%, and domestic available seat kilometres fell by 5.5%. The comparable figures for the year to date were also down.

Air New Zealand says the decrease is due to reduced aircraft availability resulting from aircraft going out of service for engine inspections.

Rolls Royce, who make the Trent engines that power Air New Zealand’s B787 9 aircraft, and Pratt & Whitney, who manufacture the PW1100 engines used on the airline’s narrowbody neo aircraft, have experienced significant issues with their engines in recent years, necessitating mandatory and lengthy inspections and replacements.

Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran has repeatedly flagged the impact the inspections were having on the airline’s network, capacity, and finances.

A breakdown of Air New Zealand’s May 2025 operating statistics follows:

Airline wide:

International short-haul:

Domestic:

Trans-Tasman and Pacific Islands:

International long haul:

On the positive side, Air New Zealand said revenue per available seat kilometre was up 2% this year. This was due to higher air fares and fuller aircraft. Revenue per available seat kilometre rose by 0.4% across Air New Zealand’s domestic, trans-Tasman and Pacific island flights, while it increased by 2.8% across the airline’s long haul network.

Photo: Air New Zealand