Those who’ve waited for hours on hold to Air New Zealand this year probably weren’t surprised to hear about the national carrier’s fall from grace in the World Airline Awards.
Air New Zealand has traditionally performed fairly well in the so-called “Oscars of the aviation industry”, but fell 10 places to number 30 in the 2022 ranking, which was topped by Qatar Airlines for the seventh year in a row.
While the Kiwi carrier’s new New York route has been plagued by problems – including delayed baggage, bumped passengers and a ghost flight to Fiji – they don’t explain its slump in this year’s awards, which were based on surveys carried out between September 2021 and August 2022.
London-based aviation consultancy firm Skytrax said it received 13.42 million eligible entries from 100 countries for the 2022 awards, which ranked 350 airlines.
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Participants were asked to nominate their favourite airline and score them on dozens of factors across three categories (cabin service, the airport experience and onboard product), using a scale of one to five. Interestingly, no mention is made of price in the methodology section on the awards’ website.
Commenting on Qatar Airlines’ win, Skytrax’ Edward Plaisted said it was “the largest airline to have flown consistently throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with their network never falling below 30 destinations, and that determination has clearly been well recognised by customers with this award as airline of the year 2022”.
Air New Zealand’s fall in the ranking could reflect increased passenger dissatisfaction, the level of disruption the airline experienced during the survey period, or a combination of both.
The national carrier was undoubtedly hit hard during the pandemic as a result of Aotearoa’s strict Covid-related border controls, which remained in place long after many other countries had lifted theirs.
The airline has seen a strong rise in bookings since restrictions began to lift in March 2022, but staff shortages have prevented it from returning to its full, pre-pandemic capacity – the airline is operating a reduced schedule over the next few months as a result. And while it has restarted some international routes, others show no sign of returning anytime soon.
A lack of staff has also been an issue at the airline’s contact centre, with customers complaining of hours-long waits to speak to someone.
While the airline has conducted a major recruitment drive, finding staff is no easy feat in the current climate, with the unemployment rate at its lowest since comparable records began in 1986, and training up new recruits takes time.
Airlines and aviation experts have questioned Skytrax’ methodology for the awards, with Etihad refusing to take part since 2014 in protest at the way they are judged. But the consultancy, which has been running both the World Airline and the World Airport awards since 1999, stresses that it is a “totally independent and impartial” judge, saying it pays for the surveys and awards celebration itself. It also says that every online entry is screened, with duplicate entries revealed by the user’s IP address disallowed.
But it’s not the only airline rating out there. Perth-based airline safety and product rating review website AirlineRatings.com judged Air New Zealand second only to Qatar Airways in its latest Airline Excellence Awards.
These awards are judged by the website’s global editors who use 11 key criteria, including fleet age, profitability, environmental and safety credentials and product offerings as well as passenger reviews.
AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said the timing of the Skytrax survey period explains the “very unusual results” in this year’s awards.
“Various airlines were in different phases of lockdown, and Air New Zealand, as we know, was operating domestically on and off, but internationally it virtually wasn’t operating at all. So the period of the vote was one of incredible disruption across the globe, and it’s thrown up some very, very unusual results.
“For instance, Qantas in Australia has been voted the fifth-best airline in the world, but if you were in Australia you’d think it was the worst. There’s been tremendous criticism of it.”
Unlike both Air New Zealand and Qantas, Qatar has continued to fly passengers internationally throughout the pandemic.
“A lot of airlines in the survey were flying as normal, but Air New Zealand, with the lockdowns and whatnot, was not,” Thomas said. “The survey’s not irrelevant – it’s interesting – but it really doesn’t reflect the status of Air New Zealand…
“Personally, I think Air New Zealand is, and has been for the last 10 or so years, probably about the best airline in the world. I think this result is an aberration. And I’m sure next year, with Skytrax, Air New Zealand will be back up there in passengers’ minds as the best airline in the world.”
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