It’s a buoyant time in New Zealand with borders reopening, international travel returning and Air New Zealand announcing big plans for its future.
In a move that sounds more Apple than Airline, Air New Zealand is developing a multi-purpose campus at Auckland Aiport (AKL).
Before taking over as CEO in 2020, Greg Foran was CEO and president of Walmart USA, the world’s largest retailer. He is a born and bred New Zealander and returned to run Air New Zealand after 25 years working overseas.
Included in the development is a previously announced 10,000 square meter engineering facility, known as Hangar 4, which was announced in 2019. It will be big enough to house one of the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners and two Airbus A320 aircraft side-by-side.
A new home for the new fleet
From September Air New Zealand will be flying its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on the Auckland to New York JFK route. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
ANZ’s existing hangars were built in the 1960s and 1980s and are not well suited to the airline’s current fleet. According to ch-aviation.com, Air New Zealand has 112 aircraft, including 14 Boeing B787s, 15 Boeing B777s, 31 Airbus A320 family, and 52 turboprops.
Currently, the airline’s headquarters is located in central Auckland, around 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the airport. Foran says most of Air New Zealand’s (ANZ) staff are based in Auckland, and he expects they will move to the airport campus in 2024.
“We have more space than we need in the Auckland CBD and are already paying for a precinct at the airport that has more than enough space to meet even our most ambitious growth projections.”
He adds that with building costs increasing and CBD leases coming to an end, now is the time to bring ANZ’s people together. There is no mention of what the costs will be in the announcement, although the airline says it will be a four-year investment. ANZ expects to reduce costs by 20% over 15 years by reducing its property footprint.
Time to revive Air New Zealand
New Zealand has endured some of the world’s most severe COVID lockdown conditions. With borders slammed tightly shut, ANZ has suffered, and for Foran this new approach is a pathway to unleash the airline’s full potential.
“We’ve spent the last two years looking at how we can set ourselves up for success as we revive our airline. We know we work best when we work together and we have plenty of underutilized space at the airport campus to make that happen.”
Air New Zealand is developing an aviation campus bringing operations and support staff together at Auckland Airport. Photo: Air New Zealand
Foran believes bringing together the people who plan the airline’s future with those who operate the airline will deliver significant returns to customers and the bottom line.
The vision is to have a hybrid work environment with cutting-edge digital technology providing the tools for a changing workplace.
While Hangar 4 will be a new facility, the airport campus will be a refurbished space within an existing building.
Sustainability is never far from major decisions, and the new hangar will have a 6-star green rating. It will also be the largest single-span timber arch aircraft hangar in the Southern Hemisphere.
Foran is confident that long-haul operations are returning, and the time is right to build a new hangar to support those operations. He adds that the airline needs ‘a modern, innovative structure that takes energy use and other sustainability factors into account.”
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