Air New Zealand will soon start scouting for new CEO

Auckland: Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran is unexpectedly stepping down, kicking off a search for a new leader to tackle lingering supply-chain ruptures that are disrupting operations.

Foran will leave in October, the airline said. He took the helm in 2020 after leading Walmart Inc. in the US, just as Covid-19 decimated global travel. Foran told the board that the airline was ‘set up well’ and ‘the time is right for him to take on a new challenge’, Air New Zealand said.

Foran’s tenure has been defined by the pandemic and its fallout. The Auckland-based airline has been hamstrung by groundings due to extra maintenance on Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce engines worldwide. As many as 11 jets will be out of service at times during the first six months of 2025, and Foran has said the situation is unlikely to improve until early next year.

Foran knew little about aviation when he arrived at Air New Zealand, and became renowned for his extreme work ethic. In an interview late last year, he calculated he had personally checked in about 20,000 passengers.

Ultimately, Foran’s long hours on the job have proved little match for grounded jets and delayed plane deliveries. Air New Zealand last month reported an 18% decline in first-half profit, partly due to the limitations on its fleet, and said its performance in the second-half of the financial year would be ‘significantly’ worse.