Air New Zealand Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said the engine problems that have grounded a significant number of the airline’s jets will hamper operations for another two years.
Four of Air New Zealand’s 14 Boeing Co. 787s currently can’t fly because engines from Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc aren’t available, Foran said in a Bloomberg Television interview Thursday. Six of the airline’s 17 Airbus SE A321s are grounded while the airline works with engine-maker Pratt & Whitney on extra maintenance requirements, he said.
The fallout suggests there’s no quick fix to the supply-chain snarls that have dogged aviation since the pandemic. Air New Zealand has a fleet of 110 aircraft, of which 58 are Airbus and Boeing jets.
The airline on Thursday said pretax earnings for the 2024 financial year more than halved to NZ$222 million ($140 million). Profit would have been about NZ$100 million higher if the fleet had been fully operational, it said.