Chief Financial Officer has left Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand raises close to NZ$1.2bn in rights offer

Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) has raised NZD1.2 billion New Zealand dollars (USD772.8 million) by concluding an equity rights offer as part of a broader NZD2.2 billion (USD1.4 billion) recapitalisation, the airline announced.

"The capital raised will allow us to repay the government loan and strengthen our balance sheet as part of the broader NZD2.2 billion recapitalisation. The company continues to progress its debt capital markets transaction. Having refuelled, our full focus now turns to reconnecting New Zealand with the world and playing our part in New Zealand's recovery from COVID-19,” commented Air New Zealand Chairwoman Therese Walsh.

Air New Zealand is 51.9% owned by the New Zealand government, which kept it afloat during the pandemic with state aid of NZD2 billion (USD1.39 billion), most recently with an additional support package in December 2021.

Walsh, in a statement, said the airline was “over the moon” with the success of the rights offer. “Millions of shareholders took part, taking up 100% of the rights available, exceeding our expectations and benchmarks for this...

Air New Zealand unveils NZ$2.2bn recapitalisation

Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) will raise NZD2.2 billion New Zealand dollars (USD1.53 billion) in a “recapitalisation package to refuel for its recovery” after two years of turbulence and with the country’s international border restrictions now starting to ease, it outlined in a statement on March 30.

The airline, which is 51.9% owned by the New Zealand government, has been kept afloat during the pandemic with state aid totalling NZD2 billion (USD1.39 billion), most recently with an additional support package of liquidity in December 2021.

The new “comprehensive recapitalisation” is designed to repay the money it borrowed from the state, strengthen its balance sheet, improve liquidity, and help position it for recovery, it said. It is made up of three parts:

• a deeply-discounted NZD1.2 billion (USD834 million) rights issue in which the government has said it will participate to retain its 51.9% shareholding;
• a NZD600 million (USD417 million) issuance of redeemable shares to the government, to be refinanced through a bond issuance by June 30;
• a new NZD400 million (USD278...

Air New Zealand to launch New York route in late 3Q22

Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) has confirmed that it will launch non-stop 3x weekly services from Auckland Int'l to New York JFK on September 17, 2022, following a lengthy delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The carrier will operate the route using B787-9s.

"We've worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make this ultra-long-haul service a reality - it's one of the longest routes in the world, at just over 16 hours northbound and 17 and a half hours southbound. To ensure customers arrive in New York feeling refreshed, we've put a lot of thought into the onboard experience, and teams are working around the clock to make sure this is a great flying experience," Chief Executive Greg Foran said.

Foran said the route would become Air New Zealand's "flagship" service, replacing flights to London Heathrow. The airline announced plans to replace flights to the United Kingdom (operated via Los Angeles Int'l) with services to New York in October 2019, intending to complete the transition...

Tanzania's Flightlink Air Charters to add ATR72-500

Flightlink Air Charters (YS, Dar es Salaam) is in the process of adding its first ATR72-500, 5H-FLA (msn 703), Skyliner Aviation has reported.

The 19.1-year-old turboprop was spotted at Toulouse Francazal airport in the Tanzanian carrier's full livery on February 5, 2022. It has yet to be ferried to East Africa. The Avions de Transport Régional unit was operated by Mount Cook Airline/Air New Zealand from delivery until May 2021, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows.

Flightlink Air Charters did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. While it did not publish a statement, it now displays an image of an ATR on its homepage.

The airline currently operates two E120s, one Cessna 560, one Beech 1900D, two Cessna (single turboprop) C208B Grand Caravans, and one Cessna (single piston) 206 on a mix of scheduled flights across northern Tanzania and charter operations.