Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran has resigned.
He will leave the airline in October, the company announced in a statement.
He had been with the company five years.
Foran said in a statement that leading Air New Zealand had been one of the "greatest privileges" of his career.
"I am humbled by the work Air New Zealanders do every day and their extraordinary commitment to each other, our customers and our country."
He said Air New Zealand has had to battle issues outside its control but had managed to continue and improve.
"I'll leave later this year knowing Air New Zealand's foundations are immensely strong."
Board chairperson Dame Therese Walsh said Foran told members he believed it was a good time for him to take up a new challenge.
She said he told the board the airline was set up well for growth.
Foran had displayed "exceptional leadership", she said.
Dame Therese said Foran had to guide Air New Zealand through "global aviation's most significant crisis" referring to Covid-19, which saw national boundaries closed and airlines having to stop fling routes.
"Perhaps his most notable contribution has been managing significant global supply chain challenges. These begun with Covid-19, and continue today with the engine issues materially impacting both our Boeing and Airbus fleets."
The Air New Zealand board will carry out a global search for a replacement.
In the months to his departure on 20 October, Foran will work with a new chief executive to prepare for the role, Walsh said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said Foran has done a good job through challenging times.
Willis was given a heads up earlier Thursday about his resignation and said she wasn't shocked by it.
She said it had been a challenging time for any leader, and Foran made a personal decision that it was time to leave.
"Look those chief executive roles are incredibly demanding.
"Greg Foran is a globally experienced chief executive and I am sure he has a number of options in the terms of the roles he might do in the future."
Air New Zealand, which has more than 11,000 employees, is the country's flag-bearing carrier.
The airline made the announcement to the NZX at 12pm today.
As at 4pm, Air New Zealand shares had dipped more than 3 percent to around 60 cents.
Just before Christmas, Foran told RNZ's Checkpoint that Air New Zealand would face issues for two to three years over maintenance issues with the Rolls Royce trent 1000 engines on its 787 Dreamliners, following concerns of premature wear and weakness.
Air New Zealand navigating challenges
A Reuters analysis of Foran's resignation focused on Air New Zealand needing to navigate global supply chain issues and ongoing engine challenges.
"Foran, a former Walmart executive, has led the Kiwi flag carrier through a turbulent period, with the airline facing unique hurdles compared to its global peers, partly due to its geographic isolation," it said.
Reuters also said, "New Zealand's relatively small domestic market and intense competition from Australian rivals Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia have intensified the airline's challenges.
But Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister said five years was about average for a top flight chief executive to stay in a job.
Foran took up the helm of the airline on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lister said it had been five years, though probably felt like double that, given he took up the role on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was one of the more challenging periods in our national carriers history.
Foran, who is a member of the China Business Council, has been a high profile chief executive within New Zealand.
He started as chief executive of Air New Zealand on 3 February 2020, joining the airline from Walmart US where he was chief executive from 2014 to 2019.
According to Foran's bio on the Air New Zealand website, he was responsible for the strategic direction and performance of Walmart's 4600 stores and more than 1 million staff.
He had also been president and chief executive of Walmart China.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
