Air New Zealand draws down more than $100m of Government loan

Air New Zealand has tapped into $110m of a near billion-dollar Government loan over the past month. Chair Dame Therese Walsh says with travel restrictions still on the outlook for the airline remains uncertain. The airline today also apologised again for poor customer service over refunds and credits. "We know that Air New Zealand will continue to be a smaller business for some time to come. Although a month has now passed since we announced our annual results, a high degree of uncertainty still remains," she said at the company's annual meeting. Air New Zealand booked a NZ$454m after-tax loss in the year to June 30, its first full-year loss since 2002. The airline went from flying 330,000 passengers a week last year to just 8000 during the April lockdown. Given the uncertainty surrounding travel restrictions and the level of demand as these restrictions lift, Walsh said the airline was currently not able to provide specific 2021 earnings guidance. "However, each of the scenarios we are currently modelling suggest we will make a loss in 2021." She told the virtual meeting that its available liquidity as at September 25 was about $1 billion, comprising $215m of cash on hand and $790m remaining on the Crown standby loan facility. The loan, negotiated in March, was for $900m with an interest rate of between 7 per cent and 9 per cent. She said the airline would draw down it as necessary in order to reduce interest charges.<br/>