New Zealand’s Airwork Goes Into Receivership

A lending syndicate led by the Bank of New Zealand has placed freight airline Airwork Holdings and associated companies into receivership. However, Airwork will continue to operate while in receivership.

The business, which is owned by Chinese company Zhejiang Rifa Holdings, operates a fleet of Boeing 737 freighters, as well as an aircraft maintenance and leasing arms.

In recent years, Airwork has twice breached a USD83.5 million loan provided by its bankers, including the Bank of New Zealand, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the China Construction Bank.

Early this month, the banks appointed Neale Jackson, Brendon Gibson and Daniel Stoneman from Auckland-based Calibre Partners as joint and several receivers and managers of Airwork's assets and undertakings, effective July 2, 2025.

The companies in receivership are Airwork Holdings Limited, Airwork Flight Operations Limited, AFO Aircraft (NZ) Limited, Contract Aviation Industries Limited (all in receivership) and Airwork Fixed Wing Limited (in receivership and administrators appointed).

Airwork is an established New Zealand business but had incurred hundred of millions of dollars in losses after five of its six Boeing 757 freighter aircraft were stranded and illegally seized in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine. It never recovered from that, despite ensuing litigation against insurers.

Since then, Airwork has sold various assets, including its helicopter operations, to stay afloat. However, the banker’s patience ran out after Zhejiang Rifa recently defaulted on the loan, taken out in 2019, for the second consecutive year.

"This step (receivership) has been taken to facilitate a structured process to identify a new owner for the business," said Gibson.

"The trading performance of the business underpins the strategy to continue to trade with the support of the financiers, customers, and key suppliers with a view of immediately commencing a going-concern sale process for the New Zealand and Australian businesses and assets.

Airwork operates twelve B737 freighters, although only around half are active. It also leases B737 and B757 freighters to other companies.

In its financial statements covering the 12 months to December 31, 2023, released in May 2025, Airwork said it generated operating cash flows of NZD55 million (USD32.3 million), an increase of NZD9.8 million (USD5.9 million) from the NZD45.1 million (USD27 million) reported in the prior year.

However, Airwork had continued to review the carrying values of its aircraft assets, resulting in a further impairment charge of NZD154.6 million (USD92.4 million) in 2023 to align asset values with current fair market conditions. This impairment contributed to a net loss before tax of NZD155. 7 million (USD93 million). The de-recognition of a deferred tax asset further impacted results, bringing the total loss for the year to NZD191.6 million (USD114.5 million).

Last year, Airwork lost key customer Team Global Express to rival New Zealand freight operator Texel Air Australasia. That account made up around 25% of Airwork’s annual freight revenues. More recently, it has lost a FedEx contract to ASL Airlines Australia, with the later company taking over the contract in September.

Airwork is also a joint venture partner with Freightways Group Limited, with whom they operate the ParcelAir brand. In a New Zealand Stock Exchange announcement, Freightways says ParcelAir will continue to operate as usual but they are monitoring the situation and “have a contingency plan ready to minimize any operational disruptions.”

Texel Air, which has aggressively pursued business opportunities in the local market since setting up in New Zealand in 2023, says it has aircraft in place to take over any Airwork business.

The first Airwork receiver’s report is due out on September 9, 2025.