Lord of the ring

One of the reasons New Zealand continues to make the world sit up and take notice is its aviation industry, not only the award-winning Air New Zealand but that fact that over the years it has developed Auckland Airport as a global hub and extended the international reach out of Christchurch. New Zealanders can make use of their flag-carrier’s network to Europe via the Americas, and to much of South-East Asia and the Pacific Rim, notwithstanding easy access to Air New Zealand codeshares, or overseas-based airlines bound for South-East Asia, the Pacific, the Middle-East and beyond.

Significantly for local competition, the recent Australian Corporate Reputation Index revealed Air New Zealand ranks first for company reputation among Australians, a result that followed hard on the heels of the airline retaining top spot as New Zealand’s most reputable brand for the fifth year in a row, The fact that Air New Zealand has just placed an order to extend its already impressive core of 787 Dreamliners says a lot about its confidence in the growth-curve allied to travel to and from its home base, and places another stamp on its ambition to continue to compete with the global majors.

It was, of course, the launch customer for the 787 and now has 13 of the 787-9 variant in its fleet with another due later this year.

In announcing the decision to buy an additional eight 787-10s with an option on a further 12, Air New Zealand’s CEO Christopher Luxon gave some insights into the savvy management thinking that has been a hallmark of the airline’s progress through both good and turbulent times. You will find New Zealander Denise McNabb’s excellent feature on the purchase, and the airline’s ambitions, starting on Page 22.

Meanwhile, the Air New Zealand announcement made waves for another reason: the decision to switch to the GEnx-1B powerplant for its new batch of 787-10s from its previous engine supplier Rolls-Royce.

Luxon was gracious in his comments about Rolls and while it’s no secret there have been issues with the Trent 1000 turbine blades on 787s leading to aircraft groundings, he said the switch to GE was more about fuel efficiency and, consequently, longer range delivery.

Don’t forget, this is an airline with an eye on Auckland-New York direct, setting up an interesting side competition with Qantas and its own Project Sunrise ambitions for longest global reach.

It’s another feather in the cap for GE which counts the GEnx as the fastest-selling engine in its history and engine of choice on 787 fleets worldwide with about 65 per cent of the market.

It is also a happy coincidence that the deal worth half a billion dollars, coming as it does in the year of GE Aviation’s centenary, further cements its influence on both civilian and military aviation in our part of the world.

This month we celebrate the contribution GE has made to aviation, not only here but worldwide, with a look back at the astonishing range of engines it has produced and the aircraft types they have served. You will find the liftout inside.

‘It says a lot about its confidence in the growth curve allied to travel to and from its home base’