AIR - Air NZ.

[Beagle]

Air NZ have said in previous briefings that international tourists coming to NZ take on average 2 domestic flights while here. So those domestic flights will go. Will also lose domestic legs of Kiwis cancelled international journeys. Plus there will be a lot of people choosing not to fly domestically while this is going on. So while international will be poleaxed, domestic will also be seriously down for as long as this goes on. Air NZ may want to raise capital soon, when the can get a rights issue away at $1.

Spot on and I for one do not believe the 41% figure quoted in the media. Based on distance flown only 14.4% of AIR capacity is domestic and a lot of that is flown by international tourists as you point out. Last week it was reported that 95% of N.Z. business's have amended their travel policy for health and safety reasons. Companies have to make an effort to protect their staff from untoward risk. Conferences around the country are being cancelled en-masse and a lot of domestic business travel being suspended in favour of meetings via skype or other electronic means. Frankly, travel by one's own vehicle has never looked so good !!
Yes I think it makes good commercial sense to do a 1:1 rights issue ASAP at ~ $1.00 with the Govt underwriting it. Get it done while they still can.

Not sure why the Pacific Islands are exempt from these measures....unless of course we are going to teach them all to ski. Now thats a thought.

Virus isn't there yet. Expect that exemption to be amended when it is.

So the international fleet will undoubtedly to suspended from operating reasonably quickly I would imagine, they will run out of pilots and crew to operate the aircraft quite quickly if they all have to self isolate for two weeks after every flight! while a scaled back domestic operation should continue for the time being...
Can AIR announce a trading halt for it's shares on the NZX and ASX while these decisions are made and implemented and announced to the market, and if so how long could this halt possibly last?

Air crew are exempt. Yes they can announce a trading halt for as long as is reasonable. Word I am hearing from AIR staff today is they are really going to struggle to find enough space to park up their planes. Christchurch and Whenuapai being talked about but may have to use Ohakea and other airports as well. 777-200's to be parked up first is what I hear.

Number 1 order of business should be to cancel the upcoming dividend. If they don't do this pronto then they wont have a show of getting political (or public) support for government help.

Have to agree 100%. When facing an existential threat all resources should be brought to bear and paying out ~ $124m at this time is gross negligence in my opinion when the directors are charged with their primary obligation of ensuring the long run survival of the business. These are indeed extraordinary times which call for extraordinary measures and shareholders being paid their full dividend as though things are normal, as others have noted, sends a very bad message that's totally inappropriate.

On a more positive note I believe it is fairly likely JetStar will temporarily withdraw from N.Z. in the foreseeable future. Most of their passengers are tourists, they are known to have very poor cleaning of their aircraft and with tourists not coming in any volume it makes no sense for them to continue flying here in the short term. Qantas couldn't care less about maintaining essential domestic travel infrastructure in N.Z., (something to think about when you choose which airline with whom to book your next flight), they are only here to milk Kiwi's with their filthy old planes and as soon as they foresee a sustained period of operational losses they will suspend main trunk services just like they did with regional services.

[Balance]

Number 1 order of business should be to cancel the upcoming dividend. If they don't do this pronto then they wont have a show of getting political (or public) support for government help.

You are a shareholder?

[Beagle]

Latest Update - As COVID-19 continues to develop we wanted to update you on what we are doing to serve our clients and staff and how we are responding to the situation.
We have a dedicated team working on our response and managing developments. This team is actively listening and responding to the shifting nature of this virus. Our business continuity plan ensures we are equipped with all the tools we need to service our clients in the event we are required to close an office. The safety of our staff, and clients who visit our offices, is a priority. We have health and safety policies in place to keep offices clean and safe. We are reducing in-person meetings, restricting non-business critical travel and following health department guidelines. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Client Experience team.

Latest headline message on direct broking website. Make no mistake, this is going on right across business's in N.Z. I hear that for example from a friend this weekend, with Sleepyhead who are obviously a major business in N.Z., all non essential business travel and conferences are now banned and even domestic travel even if considered absolutely necessary must be approved by the general manager first. Impact, high value business travel often booked at short notice at very high prices will take a massive hit both international and domestic.

[850man]

SP at $1 looking more likely by the minute

[Beagle]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/14/delt...rces-cuts.html

“The speed of the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen – and we’ve seen a lot in our business,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian wrote to employees on Friday.

If Delta think they are in unchartered waters, AIR are most certainly going to be several level's up from that after yesterday's tough travel restrictions.
I read earlier this week that staff who weren't busy were being reassigned to the refund call centre. If they're refunding fares left right and centre and paying out that dividend and cutting services dramatically, after a truly unprecedented collapse in demand that's literally going to fall off the face of a cliff, how long before they run out of cash ?

Don't want to use my airpoints for travel...I might use them up on other stuff this week.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/natio...cid=spartandhp

8 cases now, be careful out there folks. Probably many more that are currently asymptomatic. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12316824

[Raz]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/14/delt...rces-cuts.html

“The speed of the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen – and we’ve seen a lot in our business,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian wrote to employees on Friday.

If Delta think they are in unchartered waters, AIR are most certainly going to be several level's up from that after yesterday's tough travel restrictions.
I read earlier this week that staff who weren't busy were being reassigned to the refund call centre. If they're refunding fares left right and centre and paying out that dividend and cutting services dramatically, after a truly unprecedented collapse in demand that's literally going to fall off the face of a cliff, how long before they run out of cash ?

Don't want to use my airpoints for travel...I might use them up on other stuff this week.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/natio...cid=spartandhp

8 cases now, be careful out there folks. Probably many more that are currently asymptomatic. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12316824

If it is worse demand drop than GFC with Delta, then that does make me pause on the economic consequences.

[Poet]

You are a shareholder?

I was a shareholder until late January, sold out then at $3 as the writing was on the wall by then

[BlackPeter]

Latest headline message on direct broking website. Make no mistake, this is going on right across business's in N.Z. I hear that for example from a friend this weekend, with Sleepyhead who are obviously a major business in N.Z., all non essential business travel and conferences are now banned and even domestic travel even if considered absolutely necessary must be approved by the general manager first. Impact, high value business travel often booked at short notice at very high prices will take a massive hit both international and domestic.

I guess there is a silver lining ... just imagine how much less CO2 we will pump this year into the atmosphere ... maybe the planet even gets a chance for a breather ...

[Beagle]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12316759

Air New Zealand executives are working today on what are shaping up as radical cuts to its network following the Government's new restrictions on travel....
Aside from the Pacific Islands, the airline's international network has effectively been wiped out by the new restrictions requiring passengers to self-isolate for 14 days.

A couple of fairly senior AIR staff I spoke with this morning seemed to be in denial about the seriousness of the situation and their response was rather blasé.
Disruption will only be short term and they can't afford to lose the huge experience we provide was their view. They're exceptionally nice people, I didn't want to wreck their day so I kept my opinionated barking to a minimum, (yeah, I know that's a rare thing for me )..

[Balance]

I guess there is a silver lining ... just imagine how much less CO2 we will pump this year into the atmosphere ... maybe the planet even gets a chance for a breather ...

Good point, BP.

The virus is nature's revenge on pollution?