AirNZ says international bookings soften

By NZPA

Thursday 20th March 2003

Air New Zealand said today forward bookings for international flights were softening as the impending war with Iraq and the deadly pneumonia outbreak in Asia spooked travellers.

While the overall decline in bookings for the period to the end of June 2003 was very modest (after adjusting for Easter in April rather than March), some key routes have been affected more significantly, Air NZ said.

In addition, the profile of bookings was changing. Higher than usual levels of late cancellations were being experienced and the booking period was also shortening.

The routes most affected were Los Angeles-London, Auckland-Japan, Auckland-Hong Kong and Auckland-Singapore.

Forward bookings on these routes were down by 5-10 percent on an Easter-adjusted basis.

"The impact on these routes is considered to be driven by the impending war in Iraq, compounded by the impact of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreaks in Asia," Air NZ said.

"The tension surrounding the situation in North Korea is also a factor causing weaker demand out of Japan and North Asia."

Domestic booking levels continued to be strong, although some flow-through impact from connecting international traffic could be expected.

Air NZ said it was continuing to closely monitor events and booking profiles. It was not yet clear what effect the drop-off will have on profitability.

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