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The launch of a quarantine-free “travel bubble” between Australia and New Zealand could provide a template for other parts of the world and pave the way for a recovery of the airline industry, according to the country’s major carriers.
However, Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways, which have received cash, have warned that delays in Covid-19 vaccinations in both nations threaten to resume the resumption of international flights to parts of the world struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“Getting Australia back to work for Air New Zealand is a major boost for us,” Greg Foran, chief executive of Air New Zealand, said before the launch of the trans-Tasmanian travel bubble on Monday.
Foran said in an interview with the Financial Times that there was still much work to be done by the governments of New Zealand and Australia to determine how to reopen air routes in the United States and other countries where Covid-19 still existed. So-called vaccination passports, which show that a traveler has been inoculated, could be a way to do this. resume flights to these destinations at the end of the year, he added.
Qantas warned last week that Australia risked falling behind other countries in its inoculation program, which the government has admitted will not be completed this year due to a shortage of vaccines.
Canberra has not provided a date for the reopening of the international border and suggested last week that travel bubbles with Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam could be its next step.
Flights between New Zealand and Australia accounted for 5 to 20 percent of pre-pandemic revenues at Qantas and Air New Zealand, respectively, according to research firm Morningstar.
Foran, who left his role as chief executive of US operations at Walmart to join Air New Zealand shortly before the pandemic arrived, said demand for these flights was strong.
“People want a chance to get on a plane and go somewhere,” he said, adding that business travel had increased as companies realized the benefits of face-to-face meetings.
“I think our next country with bubbles will be the Cook Islands, which we hope will start operating in May,” Foransa said.
Morningstar predicts that Air New Zealand and Qantas will suffer a combined success of $ 15 billion ($ 11.6 billion) in revenue in 2021. But the two airlines are experiencing a sharp recovery of their domestic routes due to the removal of Covid- 19 by countries.
Air New Zealand faces major challenges in the coming months, including an imminent US $ 1.5 billion capital raising to repay government rescue loans.
There are also concerns about the intervention of Wellington, which owns 52% of the airline. The Labor administration sent a letter to the president of Air New Zealand in early April saying it hopes to be an “active majority shareholder” and play a role in the appointment of directors.
This prompted the national opposition party to demand an urgent debate in parliament, while critics expressed concern that any intervention could hinder fundraising for the airline.
Foran said Air New Zealand was “fully aligned” with the principles set out by the government. Even if some investors were discouraged by the perceived influence, others would think it was “fantastic” for an airline to have the state support needed to continue operating in a pandemic, he said.
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