It is now a norm that airlines across the globe are operating at bare minimum flight schedule. However, the number of passengers has fallen so drastically that it is quite beyond imagination.
Yesterday, we wrote that Cathay Pacific only carried just 582 passengers on one day this week. While this is already alarmingly low, on Thursday Air New Zealand‘s Chief Revenue Officer, Cam Wallace, shared with us that they only carried 165 passengers out of 89 scheduled flights – that is 2 passengers per flight on average.
Among these 89 scheduled flights, 20 of them only had 1 passenger on-board.
Although the passenger counts have been low, Air New Zealand explained that they have to operate these flights to transport essential workers and cargo.
As of 3rd April, Air New Zealand significantly reduced their domestic capacity; representing a 95% cut in total, when compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Some of these domestic flights have to operate a larger aircraft (A320) as they have larger cargo capacity.
Domestic Schedule From 3rd April Onwards
International Schedule From 30th March to 31st May
In addition to this drastic cut in flight schedules, NZherald reported, on 30th March, that the airline has started to slash their workforce. It was mentioned that 12,500 staff may be laid off, starting with overseas staff first.