As Air New Zealand starts to ramp up its long-haul operations the carrier has confirmed that it has returned its London Gatwick landing slots back into the pool as it waits for new aircraft.
NZ’s chief financial officer Richard Thomson says the airline is applying for both Heathrow and LGW on a regular basis. NZ last year gained daily slots at LGW but won’t take those up as it awaits the delivery of the first tranche of new Dreamliners and existing ones are refurbished. “In this particular instance, because we haven’t got the aircraft to operate it, we put those back into the pool via the normal handback process,” he told Travel Today. But NZ is committed to returning to LON, where it last operated in 2020 before pulling out of its long-standing flights LHR via Los Angeles because of the cost of operating the route. The exit was accelerated by the pandemic and NZ was paid USD27 million for its daily slots. “We have signalled that we are keen to get back into it. The challenge for us in doing that is largely practical. We’ve got to get ourselves into a position where we’ve got the fleet available,” he adds.
. . . LHR Bid
Slots are harder to win at congested LHR, seen by many travellers as a more desirable airport than LGW because of its rail links to London. Thompson says most airlines apply for rights at slot controlled airports every six months, which NZ is doing in London. “It’s important we’re on the slot coordinators’ radar in that part of the world because they’re not readily attainable.’’ Thomson doesn’t have a timeframe, but says aircraft availability will improve next year. The first two of eight new 787s will arrive in the first part of next year, while existing planes will be refurbished by the end of 2026 when NZ will be further through Rolls-Royce engine maintenance issues. One reason for NZ’s return to London is to meet the demands of its most loyal customers who see it as a big gap in the network and will have more options to get there when Qantas’ Project Sunrise flights from Sydney start in 2026.
. . . Transit Point?
Thomson says the restored London route would more likely involve a mid-point stop rather than adding a transatlantic leg to its New York flight. Routing options are now being assessed. ’I’m excited about it, I know the organisation is excited about it, and most importantly, we hope customers are excited about it,” he adds.
