Air New Zealand will suspend its Incheon-Auckland services on 29 March, citing engine availability issues as the cause.
Air New Zealand chief commercial officer Jeremy O’Brien acknowledged the disappointment this may cause.
“We understand this will be disappointing for some customers, and we sincerely apologise for the impact,” he said. “Due to the ongoing challenges with engine availability, we have reviewed our network to ensure we are set up to operate our schedule effectively and best deliver for our customers’ needs.”
Impacted customers will be contacted by Air New Zealand with rebooking options on alternative or place their fares into credit or receive a full refund.
“We remain committed to providing seamless travel experiences for our customers and will work closely with our partners to ensure connectivity to Seoul remains accessible. We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while we work through this change as well as our wider fleet constraint challenges,” he said.
“We are always reviewing demand and assessing our flying schedule. As aircraft and engines become available, we will review our network and make decisions based on customer demand.”
Deeper issues as Air New Zealand falls further behind global carriers
The cancellation of Air New Zealand’s Seoul route may just be scratching the surface of issues facing the airline right now.
In March last year it suspended its Auckland-Chicago service between March and October for the same reason – limited availability to Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Engines.
Meanwhile, its rival across the ditch, Qantas, will welcome the arrival of 20 new planes this year at an average of one every three weeks. In an interview last year, United Airlines’ Doreen Burse told Travel Weekly the carrier would be taking delivery of approximately 100 new aircraft each year for the next five years.
At the end of 2023, Air India saw the first of 470 new passenger jets that will help it take likes of Emirates and Qatar.
A source close to an Air New Zealand partner airline told Travel Weekly it is likely that the Kiwi carrier is at the back of a supply-chain backlog that plagued the industry at the end of the pandemic.
A plane every three weeks as Qantas readies for major expansion in 2025 and beyond
