Taking flight: How Air New Zealand brokered its Dreamliner revamp deal amid Covid lockdowns
Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the registration ZK-NZH is the first of 14 aircraft to be retrofitted at S.T. Engineering in Singapore. Photo / Air New Zealand, Alex Twentyman
Air New Zealand had to overcome an escalating wave of crises to get its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner retrofit programme under way after Covid-19 grounded the airline.
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NZ Herald
12 hours ago
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Small Business: Giftbox Boutique's journey from garage start-up to pandemic success
We started back in 2016 in a garage, so the quintessential New Zealand business story. When we started out gift baskets were very old fashioned. I felt like there was an opportunity for something that could be much more premium. We also recognised the shift that was starting to happen between traditional bricks and mortar and online shopping. My background is in marketing, and my husband's is in sales and digital marketing, so we had a good skill set and understanding of what it takes to launch a business online. We jumped into the deep end, quit our jobs, and much to our surprise, as much as anyone else's to be honest, the business has just grown from there. Giftbox Boutique operated out of co-founder Katie Gray's mum's garage, stacking orders to the ceiling until it had to find a bigger space. How do you choose what goes into each box? We have about 150 different gift boxes to choose from which contain a selection of upwards of 200 local New Zealand products, everything from wine and craft beer to home fragrances and homewares. We're lucky now we're the size we are, we get approached daily with companies that are wanting us to put their products in our boxes. And so we are quite strict in terms of what criteria we work with. The first thing for us is we're an online store, so our customers can't touch, feel, or smell the product, so it has to look amazing to begin with because they're shopping with their eyes. Secondly, the product has to be high quality and taste amazing. Thirdly, we also like to partner with New Zealand suppliers where possible. Our preference is typically for products that aren't stocked in a supermarket. For things that feel a little bit more premium, we like to try and partner with some small New Zealand producers, because that's also a nice way for us to be able to help support other small businesses to help them get their brands out to customers. How was the Covid-19 pandemic for the business? Covid was a very interesting time for us. We were coming off the back of really strong growth and then retail shut down. I always explain it that it was like adding fuel to a fire, we just went ballistic. We were lucky that we were still able to operate with a skeleton crew, because at the start things were very unknown, and we were all trying to work out how to work safely, but to still be able to help our customers. Demand just went absolutely crazy, I think we had something like 200%-300% growth during those Covid times. Growth brings with it its own sets of challenges. One of the things that's always been really important and an absolute non-negotiable for us is product quality. So for us, whether it's one gift box or 1000 gift boxes going out the door, I want them to look equally amazing. So it was about managing the volume of sales to make sure that output quality didn't decline in any way, because that's our brand and our business, and I want every customer that receives a boutique gift box to have an amazing experience. Katie and Andy Gray, co-founders of Giftbox Boutique, started the business after spotting a gap in the premium gift box market. What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business? My biggest piece of advice would be to trust your instincts and just give it a go. I think it's easy to doubt yourself and to spend too long polishing something before getting it out there. One of the big things, especially with online marketing, is people talk about minimum viable product in terms of getting something live and testing it to see what the feedback is. If you spend too long in your planning phase, you'll never feel ready. There will come a time when you just have to leap, because things won't be 100% perfect. Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
Scoop
13 hours ago
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Air New Zealand's Captain David Morgan Appointed Officer Of New Zealand Order Of Merit
Air New Zealand is proud to acknowledge that Captain David Morgan has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours List. This prestigious honour recognises his extraordinary contributions to aviation safety, leadership, and mentoring over more than four decades of service in both in New Zealand and on the global aviation stage. Captain Morgan began his journey with Air New Zealand in 1985, becoming the Chief Pilot in 2003. In 2005, he joined the Executive where he remained until earlier this year when he stepped down from his Executive role. David is now about to start flying the airline's Airbus 320 fleet. Internationally, David's tenure as Chair of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Operations Advisory Council, along with contributions to ICAO, have elevated Air New Zealand's standing on the world stage. Air New Zealand Chief Executive, Greg Foran, says David's influence is deeply embedded into the airline's DNA. 'When people think of Air New Zealand, many will think of Captain David Morgan. His leadership has helped define who we are today - an airline built on safety, professionalism, and a strong purpose. David has played an extraordinary role shaping a culture of safety, integrity, and professionalism at Air New Zealand that has seen us repeatedly recognised as the world's safest airline. We're incredibly proud of David and thrilled to see his remarkable contribution honoured in this way'. Dame Therese Walsh, Chair of Air New Zealand's Board of Directors, says David's service has been nothing short of exceptional. 'His influence spans every corner of aviation—from safety and sustainability to mentoring the next generation of leaders. He has represented the airline and New Zealand on the global stage countless times and has also worked tirelessly in New Zealand to support young people coming into the industry. This honour not only reflects not just his deep expertise, but also the generosity with which he gives his time to others. On behalf of the Board, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to David for his ongoing service to the airline.'
Scoop
a day ago
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Money In Transaction Accounts Costing New Zealanders Billions
Article – RNZ New Zealanders could be leaving their share of more than $1b a year on the table by keeping their cash in transaction accounts. , Money Correspondent New Zealanders may be leaving money on the table by keeping their cash in transaction accounts. David Cunningham, chief executive of mortgage broking firm Squirrel, said there was significantly more money in transaction accounts now than before Covid. Most banks do not pay interest on transaction accounts. Cunningham said transaction account balances had peaked at $53 billion when interest rates were close to zero, and people could see little reason to change. It had fallen to a recent low of $37b but had now lifted again to $39b. 'Almost all of this earns 0 percent [interest].' If that money was shifted into an account paying 3 percent, it would give savers just under $1.2 billion in interest a year. Cunningham said before Covid hit, there was about $28 billion in transaction accounts. 'You're always going to need some float in your transaction accounts but a lot of this is lazy money.' He said it was customer inertia that also delivered higher profits to the banks, because they could make money from the cash sitting in the accounts. But he said banks should be encouraging customers to check that they had their money in the right accounts. 'Every time you log in they could remind you that you've got say $20,000 in a transaction account earning nothing and if you moved it to savings you could earn x… that would be a way to make sure people were better off,' Cunningham said. Claire Matthews, a banking expert from Massey University, said some people kept their money in transaction accounts because of the ease of access. 'They may have concerns about fees to access it if it's in a savings account. Partly I think it's because they don't think the interest will be worth it – but they may not have actually looked at the numbers, because depending on the amount it may be very worthwhile over time. Partly, however, it is probably just not getting around to doing it.' Banks have been cutting rates for term deposits and some savings this week, after the official cash rate reduction. Westpac said on Thursday it was cutting the rate offered on a number of term deposits by 10 basis points. ASB said it was cutting the rate offered on its Savings On Call, ASB Cash Fund, Savings Plus and Headstart accounts by 20 basis points. That took the Headstart rate to 2.7 percent.
