70 jobs axed as Air New Zealand cuts services

Air New Zealand has announced it will axe its Hong Kong-London service with the loss of 70 jobs and introduce a code-share with Cathay Pacific on the Auckland-Hong Kong route. The moves come as the airline attempts to stem losses on its long-haul flights, which contributed to a 12 percent fall in profit for the year to June 30. Chief executive Rob Fyfe said a review had found the Hong Kong-London route would not be profitable in the foreseeable future and the airline would cut 70 London-based cabin crew jobs when it halts the service in March next year. He said Air New Zealand would redeploy capacity to the popular Auckland-San Francisco and Auckland-Los Angeles routes, the latter of which offers a connection through to London. "We remain committed to servicing Europe via these daily Los Angeles-London services," Fyfe said in a statement released late Monday. He said the code-share with Cathay had received regulatory approval and would offer passengers more options when travelling to and from mainland China. "We also believe that the benefits arising from this agreement will stimulate tourism from mainland China to New Zealand," he said. The latest job losses come on top of 441 positions cut in the first half of 2012.