Speaker 1: You're listening to a share of these podcast a couple
Speaker 1: of years back, I think when you had the capital
Speaker 1: rays that sort of set yourselves up for all of this.
Speaker 1: Twenty twenty two, you were talking about being app at
Speaker 1: about ninety percent of COVID levels. By now, yes, it's
Speaker 1: right nowhere, nowhere near it.
Speaker 2: I think we're at about eighty eight of pre COVID
Speaker 2: levels eighty seven, but at huge cost. All these rented
Speaker 2: Triple sevens, all these rented engines, a whole bunch of
Speaker 2: new aircraft that we're paying for in terms of depreciation
Speaker 2: and invested capital that aren't doing anything. And so while
Speaker 2: we're close to that level of flying, it's coming at
Speaker 2: a significant cost burden that what we didn't anticipate.
Speaker 1: Be nice to get some tourists too, it would something
Speaker 1: like what I think I read fifty percent or fifty
Speaker 1: five percent levels coming out of China compared with pre
Speaker 1: COVID levels. Obviously that's an industry wide problem, but it's
Speaker 1: it's it's another one of those levers that any Zeland's
Speaker 1: already always been quite keen to so pull and support
Speaker 1: what's going on there.
Speaker 2: At a total country level, I think we're at eighty
Speaker 2: seven eighty eight percent of where we were visitor arrivals
Speaker 2: pre COVID. But within that number, averages are deceiving. So
Speaker 2: within that number, actually the US is ahead of where
Speaker 2: it was pre COVID. It's the exchange rate of US
Speaker 2: tourists coming to New Zealand now. Actually the exchange rates
Speaker 2: amazing for all the reasons why it's tough for a
Speaker 2: key to travel to US at the US at the moment,
Speaker 2: so US is sitting actually well above where we were
Speaker 2: pre COVID. Australia just behind. I think they might be
Speaker 2: ninety two ninety three percent of where they were, but
Speaker 2: they're strong to demand out of Australia. So it's one
Speaker 2: of our best performing markets, as you say or allude
Speaker 2: to the big gap at the moments out of China market.
Speaker 2: So we are I think half all very close to
Speaker 2: half of where we were before.
Speaker 1: I think I've read somewhere it's like over five hundred
Speaker 1: dollars for someone to come here before they've even bought
Speaker 1: the ticket. Right, there's a huge visa cost, and then
Speaker 1: you've got that extra visa levy that's been put on
Speaker 1: for tourism and conservation purposes and instead of pricing ourselves
Speaker 1: out of the.
Speaker 2: I don't think it helps, So I'm not for sure
Speaker 2: it's five hundred dollars, it's four forty one I think
Speaker 2: for the visa.
Speaker 1: And then the hondy on top and then on top.
Speaker 2: So it is expensive us in our Singapore office a
Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago talking to the team up there,
Speaker 2: and there's no doubt it's a friction point compared to
Speaker 2: other countries who have got much lower sort of costs
Speaker 2: of entry. And I think one of the tough things
Speaker 2: with the visa is that it's it's a levy that's
Speaker 2: imposed at the time people are making decisions about where
Speaker 2: they're traveling. It's not like they've arrived in country can't
Speaker 2: do anything commitive, you know. So there's no doubt in
Speaker 2: my mind that it is influencing where people choose to travel.
Speaker 2: We are have become a much higher cost destination than
Speaker 2: we were in the past, still very desirable and we're
Speaker 2: still getting good and bound tourism, but that is a
Speaker 2: friction point.
Speaker 1: I think, how on earth do you sort of keep
Speaker 1: turning up with a smile on your face then when
Speaker 1: it feels this challenge, I mean, you know, Any aircraft
Speaker 1: that sets out without knowing when it's going to land,
Speaker 1: where it's going to land is in some real trouble.
Speaker 2: Where an airline that's been around for eighty five years,
Speaker 2: there's a huge amount of pride in the airline. It
Speaker 2: is an amazing place to work. We've got a lot
Speaker 2: of people on the staff who have been with the
Speaker 2: company for twenty years, like me thirty forty. A lot
Speaker 2: of people on the staff have seen the various ups
Speaker 2: and downs through the years. People are philosophical. I think
Speaker 2: about where we're at in the cycle. We have a
Speaker 2: good plan going forward, great fleet plan, great product, you know,
Speaker 2: the wide body fleet at the moment, it's just starting now.
Speaker 2: We fly the flag offshore lots of different countries, so
Speaker 2: where one of the country's biggest cheerleaders, and people just
Speaker 2: get a thrill out of that. And it doesn't seem
Speaker 2: no matter how tough the situation is. People we just
Speaker 2: get that fulfillment and pride out of representing the country
Speaker 2: as well as we can, and that's what gets people
Speaker 2: or keeps people going. Investing involves the risk you might
Speaker 2: lose the money you start with. We recommend talking to
Speaker 2: a licensed financial advisor We also recommend reading product disclosure
Speaker 2: documents before deciding to invest.