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Speaker 1: We'll talk with the Air New Zealand CEO later in

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Speaker 1: the show, but there's no doubt though Air New Zealand

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Speaker 1: has got issues. In a week of company reports, the

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Speaker 1: vast majority of which contained good news, Air New Zealand

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Speaker 1: was a glaring exception. A national airline losing money in

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Speaker 1: an industry that's booming doesn't make sense. They've got engine issues, yes,

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Speaker 1: that's real, and it's not over. They got eight granded planes,

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Speaker 1: planes that don't fly, don't make money. They've got issues

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Speaker 1: getting planes that's been applicable to everyone. So a perfect

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Speaker 1: storm of sorts. But if you read the report, the

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Speaker 1: engine compensation was fifty five million, but the bottom line

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Speaker 1: would have been ninety they claim if the engines were

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Speaker 1: on the plane. But add the ninety to the loss

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Speaker 1: and you're still not making a lot of money. They

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Speaker 1: blame domestic demand, all lack of it. They blame increased charges.

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Speaker 1: They're real, the cost plus accounting of landing charges and

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Speaker 1: so on. It's not only material, but it's criminal and

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Speaker 1: the government is a main shareholder, needs to do something

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Speaker 1: about that. But enter David Seymour. An election year. He

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Speaker 1: says we should sell the thing, go break they're two

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Speaker 1: politically motivated. Seymour's wrong. We need a national airlign. Just

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Speaker 1: imagine the sale to a private operator and the thing tanks.

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Speaker 1: A country needs an air network and Jetstar, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: A government saved Air New Zealand before they could do

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Speaker 1: it again. A country with no airline is not a country.

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Speaker 1: But that doesn't mean Seymour's completely wrong. Air New Zealand

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Speaker 1: is woke and it does have reputational issues. It's focused

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Speaker 1: on uniforms and departure videos to a degree that's laughable.

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Speaker 1: The great airlines Emirates, Singapore, Katar have ordinary uniforms and

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Speaker 1: ordinary videos, but world class product and a shed load

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Speaker 1: of profit. That is where Air New Zealand is badly missing.

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Speaker 1: Too often they charge first world prices for budget services

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Speaker 1: and domestically the services are not reliable enough. There's a

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Speaker 1: line between their genuine issues and their brand issues. They

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Speaker 1: do have problems, but they also don't look like all

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Speaker 1: they could be, and they haven't for years. Some of

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Speaker 1: it is small country, small population. Some of it is

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Speaker 1: too much purple and too much pr around Kasaba crisps

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Speaker 1: and eight hundred dollar flights to small towns. The CEO

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Speaker 1: has a hell of a job. The turnaround, they say,

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Speaker 1: is coming, but read the report. I don't see it yet.

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Speaker 1: For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to

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