Air New Zealand recorded a further improvement in on-time performance during August, with 85.3 per cent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule – up from 83.1 per cent in July and 81.8 per cent in August last year. The global average for airline punctuality was 73.1 per cent for the month.
Air New Zealand chief operations officer, ground and in-flight, Kate Boyer said the result reflected work across the operation to deliver a more consistent customer experience.
“From a customer’s point of view, it’s pretty simple: get me there when you said you would, and make sure my bag gets there too,” Boyer said.
“August was a good step forward after a challenging July, and our team has done a great job strengthening our performance.”
The airline operated 13,053 flights across its domestic and international network in August.
International services showed one of the strongest improvements, with 80.4 per cent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, up from 74.5 per cent in July and 76.2 per cent a year earlier. Regional punctuality reached 86.8 per cent, up from 85.9 per cent in July and 82.3 per cent in August last year, while domestic jet services recorded 85.3 per cent.
The result placed Air New Zealand fourth among Asia Pacific carriers in Cirium’s monthly on-time performance rankings.
Weather conditions eased from the July peak, which had close to double the number of weather-affected flights and around two-and-a-half times the weather-related delay minutes recorded in August. One per cent of scheduled flights were cancelled for reasons within the airline’s control, with total cancellations falling from 2.8 per cent in July to 2.5 per cent in August.
Preliminary FY26 figures show Air New Zealand’s mishandled baggage rate at 2.77 bags per 1,000 – around half the global average of 4.9 per 1,000. The airline carried 12.8 million bags across the year, up from 12.5 million the previous year.
“We’re very proud of our record, which is strong globally, but that’s little comfort to the customer standing at the carousel without their bag,” Boyer said.
The airline pointed to improved scanning and traceability as giving teams greater visibility of bags throughout their journey, alongside continued focus from airport, baggage services and operations staff.
