National carrier Air New Zealand has said their consumer strategy will focus on “premium leisure” customers.
Chief Customer Officer Jeremy O’Brien says the strategy is broadly aligned with our wider tourism sector, and he expects this focus to drive demand for international tourism to New Zealand.
Jeremy O’Brien, Air New Zealand Chief Customer Officer.
“We’re not a low-cost carrier. We’re never going to be the cheapest, but what we will compete on is value. We are targeting customers who are prepared to recognise quality and pay for a product that represents great value.
“That will then translate for the customer through the ground experience they have in New Zealand. It gives confidence to the New Zealand tourism economy to invest in high quality, high value product.
“We can continue to be a destination that stands out for the quality of experience you get when you visit the country. That can be a positive differentiator for New Zealand on the international market.”
Air New Zealand Economy Stretch
This focus on premium leisure travellers can be seen in the airline’s new retrofitted 787-9 dreamliners, the first of which was revealed at the Auckland Airport Tourism Forum on Monday. The upgraded cabins come with a $35 million price-tag each, and will include all new Business Premiere Luxe seats, 22 Business Premier seats, 33 Premium Economy seats and 213 Economy seats, with 13 of those being SkyCouch seats.
The retrofit will slightly reduce the fleet’s capacity, from the current figure of 302 or 275 seats to 272 seats per dreamliner.
Despite a decrease in capacity Mr O’Brien says he expects the focus on premium leisure consumers will “pay dividends” in the long term.
“We’ve seen really strong demand across premium cabins, both Premium Economy and Business Premier. Those cabins are constantly above 90 percent – if not 100 percent – over peak periods, which is why we continue to invest in upkeeping that capacity.”
Though the overall number of seats will drop, the retrofit will see a 30 percent increase in premium cabin capacity after the fleet is completed in 2030.
Business Premier Cabin
“We are doing that because we are seeing signals from the market that the premium leisure travel market is both quite resilient through cycles, and that demand continues to exist.”
In addition to physical upgrades the airline is also focused on the quality of customer experience. Mr O’Brien says details like menu designs and the new in-flight entertainment (IFE) system are paramount to a quality experience.
Additions like the SkyPantry – a self serve refreshment station – and a ‘zen-tertainment’ channel on the IFE designed to help you sleep, are all examples of the high-quality offering that is part of AirNZ’s consumer strategy. Additionally, the airline will continue to innovate around digital technologies, and provide a quality end-to-end user experience, says Mr O’Brien.
“We are only as good as we are responding to what customer needs are. What we’re seeing across the industry is the fast advancement of digital technology, the application of things like AI. We need to make sure we’re at the forefront of adopting those technologies so we’re not leading just as an airline, but as a customer experience across industries.”
