Auckland Airport says it is seeing strong underlying demand for air travel for the upcoming summer peak travel.
“However, we continue to take a cautious approach in the near term with the current fuel price volatility and geopolitical instability impacting airlines and demand for travel with flight and passenger volumes expected to be relatively flat,’’ ceo Carrie Hurihanganui (pictured) says of the next financial year.
In the 12 months to 30 Jun total AKL passenger movements increased 1.6% to 19.04 million. Domestic passenger movements grew 1.7% to 8.6 million, and international passenger movements (including transits) increased 1.6% to 10.5 million.
AKL chair Julia Hoare says the last financial year began with strong momentum in key international and domestic markets, reflecting New Zealand’s continued appeal as a destination and the strength of outbound travel. There was a 4% increase in transtasman capacity, while the US continued to demonstrate stable demand for New Zealand as a destination, despite it showing a slight decline in capacity of 3%.
The global aviation market became more challenging in the second half of the financial year, as geopolitical instability drove fuel price volatility and prompted air lines to reassess capacity, says AKL. “This, alongside global aircraft supply constraints, resulted in seat capacity falling 6% from planned levels in the final four months of the financial year,’’ Hoare says.
AKL says it is working closely with regional airlines, including sup porting them with approximately $3.5m in targeted rental abatements across the financial year.
. . . Profit
The airport company’s net under lying profit after tax was down 0.5% to $309 million and reported profit after tax including revaluations decreased to $334.7m.
