Air New Zealand updated its financial forecast predicting an increase in the profit margins by 18% to 47%. The airline predicts its profit to be in the range of $185.8 million to $204.8 million. Air New Zealand has attributed this sudden profit increase to continued strong demand across the domestic and international networks and a decline in jet fuel prices.
“The updated range is based on current forward sales expectations and assumes an average jet fuel price of around US$127/bbl for the six months to December 31, 2022. It also assumes we will fly approximately 75% of pre-COVID capacity across the entire network in December, with domestic running at just under 100%, short-haul at about 85%, and international at around 70%,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline has reopened almost all its pre-COVID international destinations and has launched its new flagship route between Auckland and New York JFK International recently.
“In the last two months, ticket sales have remained strong and with capacity tightly held, fares and profits have climbed,” the airline said.
In September 2022, Air New Zealand had predicted its profit for the six months ended December 31, 2022 in the range of $126 million to $173.2 million. In just three months, the airline has seen enough good performance to forecast an increase in profit.