Fyfe should have stayed at his desk
A good manager prioritises.
The fact that Air NZ calls its people "Air New Zealanders" (in the same way that Lufthansa people are "Lufthanseaten") is a dead giveaway: in situations like this, the CEO is where he's needed most and that's with his people.
I thought the "looking out to sea" pose was mildly OTT, but that's the only thing to fault in the whole performance, including that of Ed Simms.
And - from someone who's done it - if you haven't set up your organisation to run efficiently in your absence, you're a bad manager.