Air NZ new boss
 

National carrier Air New Zealand has appointed Rob Fyfe as Chief Executive Officer, the airline said on Friday.

Fyfe, the carrier's group general manager airlines, replaces Ralph Norris, who left the company on August 31 to become Chief Executive of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Chairman John Palmer said Fyfe had beaten a strong field of internal and overseas candidates for the job.

"He joined us in December 2002, initially in the role of Chief Information Officer, but effectively responsible for the business transformation process that we were undertaking at the time," Palmer told a news conference.

Fyfe, a former New Zealand air force engineer, had also worked with NZ Telecom, Bank of NZ and its parent National Australia Bank, and British commercial broadcaster ITV Digital.

He said the airline was working in a challenging environment.

"The company has the resilience, the vision and the people to deal with these challenges and to become an enduring, internationally successful airline," Fyfe said.

Fyfe said he would continue the airline's review of the fiercely competitive New Zealand and Australia route, although it had not decided its final strategy.

"Clearly we've made no secret of our belief that there are opportunities to look for consolidation and rationalization particularly as it relates to the Tasman market," he said.

Air NZ has cut costs, streamlined in-flight services and added capacity as part of its recovery from near-collapse in 2001.

A proposed strategic alliance with Australian rival Qantas in 2002 was blocked by competition regulators.

It reported an 8 percent rise in net profit for the year to June 30 on the back of increased passenger numbers, but warned rising fuel prices were likely to cut profits in fiscal 2006.

Air New Zealand is in the midst of a NZD$1.6 billion (USD$1.1 billion) fleet upgrade, buying 10 Boeing aircraft, including a pair of new 787s, and 15 Bombardier Dash Q300 planes.